Biggest Takeaways from New England Patriots' Week 12 Loss

It's official: The 2015 New England Patriots are not the 2007 New England Patriots.

But after the Denver Broncos handed them a 30-24 overtime loss, their first of the season, the Patriots have a chance to take a punchline (18-1) and turn it into a goal. 

The question is, can they achieve that goal? Did the Broncos expose some fatal flaw within the Patriots that makes them vulnerable to other opponents? If that fatal flaw is injuries and some iffy officiating, then yes, they have.

But if the Patriots can regroup and win their games convincingly, the officiating won't be the difference in their season.

Here are some other takeaways from the game.

The Patriots Appear to Have Dodged a Few Bullets

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The Patriots have had some tough injury luck this season. Between left tackle Nate Solder, running back Dion Lewis and wide receiver Julian Edelman, the Patriots have lost more good offensive players than some teams have on their roster.

They've also had some tough luck on defense, where they've been without linebacker Jamie Collins for the past two games and have also been without linebacker Dont'a Hightower and defensive end Jabaal Sheard at times this season as well.

But it could have gotten a whole lot worse for the Patriots on Sunday with injuries to Hightower and tight end Rob Gronkowski. Out of all the Patriots players who are still healthy, Hightower and Gronkowski are among the most irreplaceable. Losing them would put a huge dent in the Patriots' chances to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

Both Hightower and Gronkowski left Sunday's game with injuries, but according to Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN, both men are week to week following their injuries. Indeed, the situation could have been much worse than it is. 

The Patriots Are on Their Last Legs from an Injury Perspective

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It's a good thing those injuries aren't serious. Because if they were, then it might be time to accept the fact that there's only so much that even Tom Brady and Bill Belichick can overcome.

With Rob Gronkowski out of the offense, the Patriots came to rely on wide receivers Keshawn Martin and Chris Harper and tight end Scott Chandler as the foundation of their offense. Of course, that was not a recipe for success, especially not against one of the best defenses the league has to offer.

The offense would be pedestrian without Gronkowski. Even when he's not catching the ball on a consistent basis, he's drawing coverage away from his teammates and helping them make plays. He's a big reason for the success of guys like Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola.

Furthermore, without reliable security blankets like Edelman and Amendola in the short and intermediate areas of the field, the Patriots' offensive line woes were even more pronounced because Brady was without his two best options for getting the ball out quickly. According to Pro Football Focus, Brady was pressured on 19 of his 45 dropbacks, bringing his two-week total to 39 of 85. 

Officiating Is in the Spotlight

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I hate writing about the officiating. I've always felt that it's up to both teams to play well enough that the outcome of the game is not dependent on the officials getting one or two calls right. Of course, one or two calls is one thing. But when questionable calls start piling up, there is a problem.

There were at least four different calls that had a dramatic impact on the outcome of the game: a phantom offensive pass interference on tight end Rob Gronkowski, a phantom defensive holding call on safety Patrick Chung, the winding of the clock after the Broncos were given a fourth timeout for injury and a missed holding call on the Broncos' winning touchdown.

The Patriots might have been able to overcome their seemingly insurmountable injury setbacks. They were almost able to overcome the weather and the hostile environment in Denver. They nearly overcame several egregious calls by the officials. But in the end, they could not overcome all three issues in one night.

Logan Ryan Is Vastly Underrated

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Before the season, any mention of the Patriots secondary was met with an increased heart rate and high blood pressure from Patriots fans. Fast-forward to Week 12, and it's become increasingly clear that the Patriots knew what they were doing—even if the rest of the world didn't.

Third-year cornerback Logan Ryan had a standout performance Sunday night against the Broncos, allowing just two completions on nine throws his way, according to Pro Football Focus. Ryan got some help from a few drops by Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, but for the most part, he did a good job of keeping up with Thomas wherever he went on the field.

Ryan has had some rough outings this year, but over the past four games, he's given up just 11 receptions on 27 passes thrown his way for 171 yards, one touchdown, one pick and six pass breakups. 

If you had said this would happen following the 2013 AFC Championship Game, you would have earned more than your share of eye-rolls and grunts from Patriots fans. But Sunday night was just another step in the same direction Ryan's been going all season. 

The Patriots Are Still in the Driver's Seat for the AFC's No. 1 Seed

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These takeaways aren't numbered, but the biggest one has to be that no one feels sorry for the Patriots, and the Patriots shouldn't feel sorry for themselves either. 

The Patriots are 10-1. This team is still in pole position for the No. 1 seed in the AFC and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The scary part is that they're only going to get better as the playoffs approach and more and more players return to the fold.

It took the Broncos, the second-best team in the conference, until overtime to beat the Patriots, despite them being short-handed and on the road. The Patriots should be incredibly proud of what they accomplished just by being so competitive in this game. They sent a message that even with all these injuries, they're not going anywhere anytime soon.