Not even Patrick Mahomes can keep the New England Patriots in primetime

Somewhere it is written, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great!"

This peculiar phrase cryptically points to the greatest empires, dynasties, and powers that inevitably find themselves consigned to history. In the NFL there is no greater comparison than that of the New England Patriots.

Long seen as the never-ending dynasty, which wracked up six Super Bowls over the span of 20 years thanks to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, the great Babylon of football lore is but a shell of its former self now.

The most glaring of all is the team's offensive ineptitude. Over the past two weeks, they have put up a combined seven points. But what's even more sad: the defense had given up just 16 points total to their opponents. This is the New York Jets' level of sadness.

After the mind-numbing 6-0 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, one Arrowhead Addict writer argued that Brandon Staley should still be axed (he will be eventually). Read that again: the Patriots are so bad that a team only needed to score six points to win.

With all of that being said, the NFL schedule makers had originally planned for the Patriots to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football in Week 16. That was back in the spring when everyone thought that the Patriots might make things a little interesting. They had after all brought in a new offensive coordinator and there was hope that Mac Jones could live up to his first-round draft status.

Boy were they wrong. And so was everyone else. The Patriots are comically bad. So bad in fact that even Patrick Mahomes couldn't salvage their primetime slot. Yes, the NFL opted to flex Mahomes and the Chiefs out of MNF (for the first time), just so people wouldn't have their eyes bleed from watching the Patriots and Bailey Zappe.

It is the ultimate fall from grace for the Patriots, who are just a few seasons removed from being the premier primetime matchup. Especially when it involved Patrick Mahomes. Brady-Mahomes was always must-watch TV. Now Mahomes-Zappe is on during your after-church nap.

Everyone knew that the post-Brady era would be tough for the Patriots, but I don't think anyone expected it to end so quickly and in such spectacular fashion. But all good things must come to an end. And it is safe to say that come December 17th, the Kansas City Chiefs will put the final nail in their coffin. Thankfully for New England, nobody will be watching.

"Alas! Alas! You mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour, your judgement has come."