1. The Defense
The Patriots pass defense has lived up to the hype (that's saying something given the team's struggles) Chandler Jones is having an amazing year, if his injury isn't too serious he should stay on pace for his best year yet. Darelle Revis hasn't been perfect, but hes been damn good for the defense and is the obvious reason the secondary seems to have taken the next step. If the run defense can be as solid as they were Sunday this will be the best defense the team has had in years.
2. Wide Outs
I'm going to include the Tight Ends in this as well. Brandon LaFell may not be popular amongst Pats fans thus far but he's defiantly improving as the season goes on. If he can have a good year that gives Brady a threat he didn't have last year. Julien Edelman has replaced Wes Welker as the safety valve. If Aaron Dobson could just get it going what a boost that would be to the offense. As for the tight ends Rob Gronkowski is getting better every week and Tim Wright is showing potential.
3. The Running Game
Steven Ridley and Shane Vereen have proven to be play makers for this offense. Last year Vereen really established himself as a dual threat. This season Ridley has shown he's running with a purpose. Although the Patriots have had good running games under Tom Brady, they haven't been able to depend on the running game since Corey Dillon. If the Oline does its job this running game can be a problem for anyone.
4. Offensive Line
Yes, the O line. As up and down as they've been (I realize I'm being nice saying that) they have shown signs of improvement and Sunday was obviously the best performance yet by far. They'll still go through their growing pains but if this line can continue to develop and stay healthy this offense can be lethal come playoff time.
5. Tom Brady
Hopefully now the over reaction crowd can disappear for awhile. It should be obvious to anyone with an IQ above 1 that this team has more issues then Brady. While he may not be the same guy he was in 2007 Sunday night proved he can still get it done. Once the offense is truly clicking he'll be as difficult to stop as any QB in the league