New England Patriots: Loss to Cowboys provides a shock of reality
Despite losing to the Cowboys in overtime, the New England Patriots are now 2-4 and continue to be a shell of their former dominant selves.
After two decades of dominance, the New England Patriots are starting to feel and look different, like a mediocre football team.
Fall in the 21st century has been mostly kind to the New England faithful. Leaves were changing colors, crisper weather, and looking forward to Sundays when the hometown heroes would take the field and walk off victorious.
Those days look over, in terms of football. Instead of nesting on the feathered perch of immortality, New England’s men of red, white, and blue are now situated on a metal bench of reality.
Sunday’s 35-29 overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys drops the Pats to 2-4. The New York Jets are next on the schedule, and it’s well documented how Bill Belichick has an infatuation with beating rookie quarterbacks, i.e., Zach Wilson.
The Pats will likely win against their division foe, and where does that leave them? 3-4. The definition of a mediocre record. Given what this generation has grown up with, you would expect 6-0, or at the lowest, 4-2.
Nope. Not like this. Not with what’s been invested in and the product that’s been displayed. Spoiled or not on past success, the standard for excellence in this area has always been established as, or at least been defined as, “The Patriot Way.”
But then that begs the question. Are the Patriots still a franchise that is feared amongst NFL circles? Or are they just another organization that got their turn in history to reap the benefits of one of the game’s greatest players who was disguised as a sixth-round gem that no one wanted and they discovered?
The answer is no, at least for now. It could be a lot worse. At least it’s not the Matt Millen experience in Detroit (2001-2008), where Belichick was once a young assistant way back in the late ’70s, working as an assistant special teams coach and wide receiver’s coach.
The New England Patriots are heading towards mediocrity, a standard tag amongst most NFL franchises.
9-13 in their past 22 games, including a 7-9 season in 2020, equals an 0.41 winning percentage for the New England Patriots throughout the past two years. While it may be early into the second season of a new quarterback, the first with a rookie, that doesn’t change anything.
Questions continue to surround the play calling and the offensive personnel. Josh McDaniels hasn’t been himself lately, especially when it comes to the development of one Mac Jones. Is he not watching what’s happening in Chicago and seeing how that organization treats its rookie quarterback in Justin Fields?
Thankfully for the Patriots, their former leader is not running around and screaming into a crowd that he owns their franchise. However, now that he has beaten all 32 teams, including New England, Tom Brady has the credibility to do so.
The view from the mountain top has been a blessing. It’s a view that’s lasted for nearly two decades, and with it came its up and downs. That view lies in the distant rear as the Patriots descend from above and back to the reality that nothing lasts forever.
Such a shame for a region that’s been blessed, or rather pampered, with success for so long. Maybe beating the Jets can provide some solace, but will it?