New England Patriots linebacker Terez Hall left, free safety Devin McCourty, third from left, and linebacker Josh Uche, right, celebrates with cornerback J.C. Jackson after Jackson’s interception during the Patriots’ 45-0 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in Inglewood, California. Peter Joneleit/Associated Press

Everyone knows Jim Mora’s famous line.

The former NFL head coach was incredulous after a certain topic came up during a post-game interview late in the year.

“Playoffs? Don’t talk about playoffs. Are you kidding me? Playoffs?” Mora said, his voice rising into a comical high-pitched register at the thought of being in the postseason.

At 2-5, the Patriots were that team, in that very same boat. After losing to the Texans in Houston on Nov. 22, with Deshaun Watson lighting up their defense, the playoffs were hardly a topic for discussion.

But it’s December, the Patriots have won two straight, and 4 of the last 5, and at 6-6, the playoffs, while still a long shot, are not completely out of the realm.

It didn’t help that three current wild card teams, Cleveland (9-3), Miami (9-4) and Indianapolis (8-4) all won Sunday.

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And, so did Las Vegas (7-5), pulling out a last-second win over the Jets, of all teams. The Ravens (6-5) don’t play until Tuesday night.

But even with everyone directly above them winning, the Patriots aren’t dead with four games to play. There’s still a glimmer of hope, especially with New England’s level of play continuing to rise.

The defense has been a force since the Texans game, and with three quarterbacks (Jared Goff, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold) they’ve had a history of success against, and a rookie in Tua Tagovailoa also on the docket, that certainly bodes well down the stretch.

Blowing out the Chargers Sunday, another AFC team, was important in terms of the mathematics and possible tiebreaker scenarios.

Of course, the Patriots are in “one-game-at-a-time” mode, but they know the score. They know they probably have to win out. But with one more game out on the west coast Thursday night against the Rams, then three AFC East bouts to close out the season, anything is possible.

“We understand what position we are in, and everything is pretty much in front of us,” said Patriots quarterback Cam Newton. “We just really gotta hone in and focus on the opponents we have to face that week, and maximize each and every opportunity we do get. I think if we keep that going on, we’ll be in good graces.”

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Added Damien Harris: “I think the best way for us to look at it is just, every game, we want to go out and win. Obviously, we know the circumstance of the season, but, regardless, our job is to go out and win. That’s the business we’re in… Talking about the postseason, that’s not something we’re that focused on. Every game, we just want to go out and win.”

Should anyone be surprised the Patriots were able to rally from a 2-5 start? It’s always been Bill Belichick’s goal to have the team playing its best football after Thanksgiving, and that’s exactly how it’s played out thus far.

“I think football’s such a funny thing and that’s why you can never really predict what’s going to happen. The game is very unpredictable,” said special teams captain Matthew Slater, whose unit was outstanding once again Sunday. “I think for us, it’s my belief that we’re starting to find out our identity and who we are, and how we’re going to have to win.

“I think as a team, when you understand that, then you can operate and move with purpose, you can act decisively and go out and play the game the way you need to play it. I think that was a process for us. There has been a great deal of turnover, you lose some key guys. There’s just been a process of us finding out who we are and how we need to do it.”

Belichick, Josh McDaniels, special teams coach Cam Achord, and the defensive collective with Steve Belichick and Jerod Mayo, clearly outcoached Anthony Lynn and his staff in the 45-0 rout.

In terms of game plan, and preparedness, it’s always hard to beat a Belichick-coached team, especially in December. But it’s been pretty clear of late the coaching staff has a good read on how to best utilize its personnel.

“Maybe it took a little longer than we would have liked, but I still believe in the culture we have here,” said Slater. “It starts with our head coach and our ownership and I think the culture we have is very sustainable if you do it the right way.”

Naturally, Belichick, who became the first head coach to win in 50 different stadiums, wasn’t looking ahead.

“We’ll see. Next week is a new week,” he said. “We’ll see where we are on Thursday.”

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