It’s that time.

Turkey. Football. Family. And, of course, giving thanks.

The Patriots have made it hard for fans to feel grateful this year. Any hopes of a playoff run were shot just six games into the season. But even at 2-8, there are reasons to be thankful.

Struggling to find the words? Well, here you go:

1. Clarity

This was the promise of the 2023 season. Not a postseason run, winning record or even fun.

Together, we would finally learn whether Mac Jones is fit to lead the franchise; whether the Patriots needed to enter a rebuild; if Bill Belichick was the man to lead the team for the foreseeable future. Those answers, painfully and definitively, are: no, yes and no.

Most teams don’t learn about themselves so quickly in the NFL. We spent last season locked in endless debate about who was at fault for the Patriots’ failures: Jones or Matt Patricia, Belichick the coach or Belichick the GM. Wouldn’t you rather rip the Band-Aid off?

That’s what’s happened now, which has allowed ownership to get a head start on searches for its next coach and GM. The front office already appears to be hunting for its next quarterback. Director of scouting Eliot Wolf, the No. 1B in the front office to director of player personnel Matt Groh, reportedly scouted USC quarterback Caleb Williams in-person last weekend.

Could Williams be the future of the franchise? More on him later.

2. Christian Gonzalez and Demario Douglas

New England Patriots’ Christian Gonzalez against the Philadelphia Eagles during an NFL football game at Gillette Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Mass. (Winslow Townson/AP Images for Panini)

Barely three games into his NFL career, some were ready to fit Gonzalez for a red jacket. If you watched him, you get it.

Gonzalez immediately established himself as the Pats’ No. 1 corner, handling A.J. Brown, Tyreek Hill and Garrett Wilson in consecutive weeks. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder is among the most athletic players Belichick has ever drafted, and those traits translated right away. Teammates describe him as “special,” and it’s fair to expect Gonzalez could be in the Pro Bowl conversation for years to come.

As for Douglas, the sixth-round jitterbug is the Patriots’ best and most consistent separator. He projects as the team’s future slot receiver. He leads all active wideouts with 46 targets, 361 yards and more than 11 yards per touch. Douglas ranks seventh in the NFL in average yards after catch (6.9), per Pro Football Focus.

Bottom line: Douglas offers a skill set the Pats haven’t seen since Julian Edelman. Get the ball to the little guy, and let him go to work.

3. Tom Brady’s return

The fist pump. The crowd’s roar. His fiery address at halftime.

Callahan: Tom Brady’s return a reminder of Patriots’ fast-fading glory

Setting aside the game result, everything about Brady’s return for the season opener, right down to the rain halting when he took the field, felt perfect. It was a well-deserved homecoming for the greatest of all time. Brady nailed his speech, too.

As he always does, he delivered in the final moments with the following dismount: “All our lives take us on different journeys. They take us to different places, they bring different people into our lives, but one thing that I am sure of — and that will never change — is that I am a Patriot for life.”

4. Small veteran breakouts

Hats off to Jabrill Peppers. Jahlani Tavai, too. And while we’re at it, take a bow, Mike Onwenu.

All three veterans have exceeded expectations playing in new and/or elevated roles this season. Playing off the ball and on the edge, Tavai has glued together a front seven that lost its best player, Matt Judon, in Week 4. He is the only Patriot with a sack, interception and forced fumble this season.

Peppers, meanwhile, is hitting everything that moves. The former first-round pick is finally, and consistently, flashing the talent that made him one of the highest touted high school and college prospects in the last 10-15 years. Peppers is a true cornerstone of this defense, racking up 59 tackles, a sack and forced fumble this season.

As for Onwenu, he’s maximizing his snaps in a contract year at right tackle. While the coaching staff was slow to plug an obvious hole with an equally obvious solution (Onwenu played well at right tackle as a rookie), they would be wise to move even slower on a replacement. Onwenu is grading as a top-30 offensive tackle at Pro Football Focus, despite repping at guard in his limited practice time this summer and in September.

The Patriots’ glue guy linebacker keeping Bill Belichick’s defense together

5. You’re still not the Jets

Even at their lowest, the Patriots can still look down. They can giggle and point. They can holler and hoot.

They can snort and chuckle and laugh out loud at the Jets.

Sure, the Jets have a better record. But they haven’t beaten the Patriots once in the post-Brady era and haven’t won a game in this division series since 2015. That’s three presidential administrations ago.

And at this rate, Gang Green might make it four. Supposedly, if the Jets are out of the playoff hunt, Aaron Rodgers will not return to the field this season. The Patriots host the Jets in their regular-season finale Jan. 7.

6. The dynasty memories

Two decades of championship-level play and memories can’t sweeten this sour season. But they can keep you warm through a long winter.

The Super Bowls, the comebacks, the record-setting performances. The moments Brady, Belichick, Bruschi, Harrison, Gronk, Edelman and others redefined what it meant to achieve and believe in the NFL. Pick your favorite Patriots Super Bowl from the last 25 years and rewatch it this weekend. Or two or three.

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Not many fan bases can do that. And none can boast to have lived through the greatest 20-year run in league history.

7. Only 154 more days until the NFL Draft

Williams is expected to go No. 1 overall, a modern marvel at the position. North Carolina’s Drake Maye will push him for that spot, and some draftniks have him rated ahead of Williams. The Patriots could also turn to one of several other quarterback prospects: LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.

It’s a good year to need a quarterback, wide receiver (hello, Marvin Harrison Jr.) and/or offensive tackle. The Pats should be in the market for all three come April.

The only thing left to do is hurry up and wait.