Five reasons why the Chiefs will dominate the Patriots
By Grant Tuttle
Overall New England trend:
Are the Patriots a good football team? Yes. Are they a great one? No. For the first time in over a decade, Tom Brady and the Patriots look extremely vulnerable. There is no rhythm and the offense seems to be in disarray. On defense, it is a different story. New England has flashed moments of greatness this season. In fact, some were discussing record-breaking numbers for the team defense until they played a team with any talent.
It’s no secret that the early portion of the New England schedule was the equivalent to a cakewalk. Of the team’s ten wins, only two teams have a winning record; The Buffalo Bills at 9-3 and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 who have a record of 7-5. While you can only play the schedule that you are assigned, every team that has an ounce of talent has given the Patriots a little bit of trouble.
The Patriots have lost to two athletic teams: the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans. However, the team struggled to put away teams all throughout the season. Both the Eagles and Cowboys who have been extremely underwhelming this season took the Patriots to the end of the game. In fact, at the height of their problems the Cleveland Browns were not blown out by the Patriots despite a multitude of turnovers and home-field advantage.
The team’s most impressive win has come against the Bills, who they edged by 6 points in Buffalo. In that game, Josh Allen went 13 for 28 for 153 yards and three interceptions. The Patriots have not been as good this season offensively, or collectively as a team.
If we are going to pretend that this is the same old Patriots, we are kidding ourselves. They have seen a steady decline throughout the season, losing two of their last four games. While many have been wrong before, I think there is a legitimate chance that the Patriots don’t clinch a 1 or 2 seed in this year’s playoffs.