New England Patriots are in major trouble, teetering on the brink

At 2-4, the New England Patriots season is teetering on the brink.

The New England Patriots slumped to 2-4 after a blowout loss to the 49ers in Week 7. It was a disastrous day for New England as they played terribly in every department. The offense was abject, the defense couldn’t stop anybody and there were mistakes on special teams. New England looked lost in this defeat and, with a huge divisional game coming up in Week 8, their season hangs in the balance.

Cam Newton had a horrid day. He only threw for 98 yards, had three interceptions, and a QBR of 3.5. Newton has been incredibly streaky throughout his career and the last two weeks have been proof of that. Newton is holding onto the ball far too long and, when he does eventually throw the ball, his accuracy is way off. But it isn’t just on him.

Offensively, the Patriots are short of any real elite talent. The Patriots receivers can’t get any separation, they lack speed and any serious deep threat and Julian Edelman has just disappeared. Josh McDaniels is one of the most creative offensive minds in the NFL but he is not a miracle worker.

In the passing game, the Patriots have to be one of the worst teams in the league. New England couldn’t run the ball either as they rushed for less than 100 yards. The Patriots offense is in serious trouble; they have a minus-two turnover differential and have 14 giveaways this season.

New England is talent poor on offense, and it is far too reliant on a quarterback notorious for his inconsistent play to fix it.

The New England Patriots defense looks as lost as the offense.

The defense has been the calling card for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. However, against the 49ers, they were dominated. The defensive front couldn’t get any penetration and was dominated physically by the 49ers. The 49ers rumbled their way to 197 yards on the ground and Jeff Wilson had a career day as he bagged three touchdowns.

Stopping the run is a staple of Belichick’s defense but, with a defensive front unable to get to the backfield and stop runners at the first level, they will have challenging days. The Patriots linebackers were another unit that had a bad day. The Patriots dynasty has been built on having great linebackers. But with the opt-out of Dont’a Hightower, it has left this group lost without its heartbeat. The linebacker group in this game offered no resistance against the run.

Moreover, this had to be one of the worst tackling performances in recent Patriots history. Belichick champions proper tackling. It is a foundational piece of the defense. Against the 49ers, though, the tackling was spectacularly bad.

There were several instances where Patriots players fell off tackles and the number of times a Patriots player tackled high and led with his shoulder was shocking. There were fundamental mistakes by individuals on the defense, and again the linebacker group led the way.

Brandon Copeland and Ja’Whuan Bentley looked very slow and took poor angles to tackle the 49ers runner. The secondary didn’t get heavily stressed on Sunday because the front seven had zero ability to stop the 49er running game. You can have an experienced secondary with top veteran players but you can’t win games in the NFL if your front seven have no way of stopping the run.

Belichick is the greatest coach of the last 30 years — of that, there is no doubt. However, he doesn’t play. This is the weakest New England roster in over 20 years. The lack of any quality receivers or tight ends hurts the offense, as does Newton’s hot and cold play. Defensively the multitude of opt-outs they suffered is now coming back to hurt them. This defense looks far too inexperienced, particularly that front seven.

Will New England be busy at the trade deadline? The Patriots need to make moves on both offense and defense. Belichick may be the best coach ever, but this Patriots team is short of elite talent in many places and I’m not sure great coaching can fix it.

Up next for the Patriots is a key divisional game against the Buffalo Bills. It is a huge matchup and one New England has to win if they want to win the division and host a playoff game. New England will have to show immense improvement if they are to beat the Bills.

Lose, and the division may already be gone by Week 8. That would be a seismic shock in a year that’s already had its fair share of shocks. The New England Patriots are teetering on the brink, and Bill Belichick might not save them this time.