Will Injuries Ultimately Derail Patriots' Super Bowl Hopes?

There are some problems in the NFL that just can't be solved. They can't be solved by Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Or mastermind head coaches. Or talented teams.

After falling in stunning fashion at home, 35-28 to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, it appears that the New England Patriots may have encountered one of those problems: The NFL's unsinkable franchise may be sinking, albeit slowly.

The injuries that have decimated the Patriots simply may have punched one too many holes in the boat.

Mind you, for a time, it didn't appear that way. Early on, it looked like Sunday's game would follow the script most assumed it would. The Patriots, smarting after losing their first game of the season last week at Denver and nearly unbeatable at home, would take out their frustrations on an Eagles club that had been blown out twice in a row.

At 14-0 Pats in the first half, that looked to about cover the storyline.

Then a funny thing happened. Well, actually, several things happened. And none of them were funny from the Patriots' perspective.

The Patriots' usually rock-solid special teams let the team down just before halftime, allowing a blocked punt to be returned for a game-tying touchdown (14-all at intermission).

The letdowns had only just begun.

A third-quarter drive was thwarted when Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins intercepted Brady and promptly returned said interception the length of the field for a touchdown.

A long pass from Danny Amendola to Brady was followed by a second Brady interception, this time in the end zone. Once again the Eagles made the Patriots pay, driving 80 yards for a touchdown.

The drive prior to that, Darren Sproles put the special in Philly's special teams once again, returning a punt 83 yards for a touchdown.

Yes, all those "for a touchdowns" happened in one game. And as stunned fans started to file out of Gillette Stadium, it was suddenly 35-14 Eagles early in the fourth quarter. It was the first time the Patriots had allowed 35 unanswered points since well before Gillette was built, per ESPN:

Thanks to a successful onside kick and some Tom Terrific heroics, the Patriots were able to get back in it, but their comeback came up short. For the first time in Patriots' history (Per Thom Brennaman of Fox Sports during Sunday's broadcast), New England has dropped consecutive games in which the team led by 14 or more points.

Now, some will point out that this was a weird game, especially given all the special teams zaniness:

And it's a valid point. There were a number of circumstances you don't see all that often.

However, as Larry Brown of Larry Brown Sports tweeted, the way the game ended has been all too familiar for the Patriots of late:

And that's where the injuries come in.

A New England offense that was arguably the NFL's best earlier in the season has been all but neutered. With running back Dion Lewis lost for the season, the Patriots have effectively abandoned the run game. The Patriots had only 25 carries against the Eagles, and six of those were by Brady.

That has forced New England to rely almost entirely on the passing game—which would be great if the team had some receivers.

The Patriots' top pass-catcher on the day was running back James White, who caught 10 balls on 13 targets for 115 yards and a touchdown. Danny Amendola chipped in 62 yards and a score on seven grabs, but he also struggled with drops at inopportune times.

He was not alone in that regard. The Patriots had no Julian Edelman—no Rob Gronkowski, no Lewis—not even Aaron Dobson.

That's how bad it's gotten. The Patriots miss Aaron Dobson.

Wide receiver Brandon LaFell told Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald before the game that he was confident the Patriots could still move the ball despite the personnel losses.

"

Tom always finds a way to make things happen when there’s a little dark light at the end of the tunnel. Tom always makes things happen for us, and he’s going to continue to go out there, and put us in the best plays, and put the ball in the right playmaker’s hands.

It’s just different players in the game now. Guys that haven’t been playing that have to step in the game and step up. We’re still going to go out there and run our schemes, get open, beat man coverage, get open quick for Tom, stuff like that. I don’t think the game plan has changed. It’s just the numbers on the jerseys changed.

"

The Patriots did move the ball—in fits and starts. But it was hardly the well-oiled offensive machine we saw earlier this season. The team's longest pass play (36 yards) was to Brady, not from him.

Brady, to his credit, stood on his head again. But he's standing on his head behind a patchwork offensive line.

He is facing defenses that know full well that he's going to throw the ball all day—that he has to—and that they don't have to contend with Gronkowski while he's doing it.

Brady is paying a price for that. The Golden Boy was sacked four times Sunday and was hit more than a dozen. He was sacked three times and hit more than twice that many the week before in Denver.

Brady is feeling that pressure. Both interceptions he threw Sunday were absolute killers. They led to 14 points for Philly. And four of Brady's six interceptions on the season have happened over the past four games.

You know, right about the time the injuries starting piling up.

It wasn't a loss that will stop the Patriots from claiming their annual AFC East championship. The special teams gaffes can probably be chalked up as an aberration. And the Patriots remain hopeful that Gronkowski's knee sprain is a relatively short-term issue.

But that doesn't change the fact the Patriots dropped consecutive games for the first time since 2012—or that in doing so, the offense struggled against a Philadephia defense that the Detroit Lions carved up like a turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

And it doesn't change the fact that Sunday's loss drops the Patriots to the No. 3 seed in the AFC. A Patriots team everyone was talking about going undefeated two weeks ago would now be playing in the Wild Card Round.

The Patriots may not be bleeding to death, but they are bleeding.

And they're proving their own mortality to the rest of the NFL in the process.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter, @IDPSharks.