Biggest Takeaways from New England Patriots' Week 13 Loss
The New England Patriots lost a game, which must mean the yearly obituaries are making their rounds.
Of course, no one in New England is satisfied with the team's back-to-back losses, including Sunday's 35-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles (5-7).
But to claim this team is dead on playoff arrival would be misguided, to say the very least. The Patriots are injured, but some of those injuries will heal in time. But the injuries were not the reason the Patriots lost. They lost because of their own errors; that being said, those errors were correctable with practice, and some of the other errors should work themselves out as players get healthy.
Here are some of the other takeaways from Sunday's loss.
The Patriots Can't Get Healthy Soon Enough
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Without tight end Rob Gronkowski, linebacker Dont'a Hightower, wide receiver Julian Edelman and others, the Patriots are way shorthanded. The bad news is those guys won't be back right away. The good news is those guys will be back.
The Patriots offense seemed resigned to a one-dimensional approach Sunday against the Eagles, putting Tom Brady in the shotgun and spraying the ball all over the field in the passing game. Brady threw a pass on 65.1 percent of the Patriots' offensive plays. The Patriots might want to consider another approach going forward, though, because airing it out that much was clearly not the ideal strategy on Sunday.
These are not the same Patriots that we saw in the first 10 weeks of the regular season. That's largely because the Patriots we saw in the first 10 weeks of the regular season were fully loaded, or at least they weren't dealing with quite as many injuries. As good health starts to return to the Patriots locker room, so too should good execution.
And look on the bright side: at least the Patriots didn't suffer any more injuries Sunday.
First Bad Game of the Year
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Until Sunday, the Patriots were one of the only teams in the NFL that had not handed its opponent a win this season. Of course, that changed against the Eagles.
A 99-yard interception return for a touchdown, an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown and a blocked punt return for a touchdown are the kind of plays that typically do not happen to the Patriots. Without those three plays, who knows how different the outcome could have been.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, there's no room for that hypothetical. They can't afford to make that many mistakes again, handing their opponent the victory through their own shortcomings.
There were also some questions about the coaching. The Patriots' lack of halftime adjustments was dubious, but given some of the injuries on offense, there wasn't much they could do to fix it. They can't blame injuries for Nate Ebner's dropkick, which gave the Eagles the ball at the 40-yard line and a good chance to score.
The Patriots coaches get heaped with praise when they outthink the rest of the league. They deserve to be questioned when these decisions don't work out and they fall short.
The Defense Is Coming into Its Own
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For all the criticisms hurled at the Patriots offense, the defense is the unit that rose to the occasion on Sunday. That unit allowed just 14 points, 120 passing yards through the air and 248 yards total. The Eagles also only converted six out of 14 of their third downs. Yes, they gave up a lot of ground in the running game (128 yards on 33 carries is only 3.9 yards per carry, though), but they played well enough to win.
For all the struggles of the offense and special teams Sunday, it was the defense that gave the team one last chance to win when Jamie Collins forced a fumble that was recovered by the Patriots with 1:13 remaining in the fourth quarter.
You can pin this loss on the offense for failing to execute. You can pin it on the coaching staff for some questionable play calls and a lack of in-game adjustments. You can put in this loss on special teams, with the blocked punt return for a touchdown and Darren Sproles' 87-yard punt return touchdown. You cannot pin this loss on the defense.
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The Patriots Can Win, Even When Playing Their Worst
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Yes, I know, the Patriots lost on Sunday. That's the only stat that matters.
That being said, after playing atrocious football for three quarters and facing a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the Patriots still found a way to fight back. The offense mounted two quick touchdown drives, and the defense followed by forcing a fumble which the Patriots then recovered with enough time to potentially score the tying touchdown.
Given the ball, with a chance to tie, you'd usually bet on the Patriots. But these were not the same Patriots we've come to know over the years. The offense stalled out with Brady completing just one of his six aimed pass attempts on the Patriots final drive.
This was not Brady's finest hour, but it was not the finest hour for anyone wearing a Patriots logo on their person Sunday. The errors from Sunday were all correctable, and that process should begin to take place as injured players return to the lineup.
The Patriots Are Still on Track for a 1st-Round Bye
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The AFC's No. 1 seed is still attainable, and the Patriots still control their destiny for the No. 2 seed.
At 10-2, the Patriots share the same record as the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals; however, the Bengals and Broncos are the first and second seeds right now, if the playoffs were to begin today. But the playoffs don't begin today. The playoffs begin in four weeks, and by that time the Broncos and Bengals will have had their week 16 showdown.
That means that one of those two teams will lose at least one more game and finish with no fewer than three losses. Assuming the winner of that Week 16 showdown wins the rest of their games and finishes 14-2, even if we assume that the losing team wins the other three games and finishes 13-3, the Patriots would still finish with a better record if they win every game on their schedule.
In that scenario, at worst, the Patriots would finish with the No. 2 seed. But what if the winner of that game also suffers a loss in the next four weeks? Well, then the Patriots would control their destiny to the No. 1 seed. Of course, this is all assuming that the Patriots win their next four games, and the way they played against the Eagles, that may not necessarily be a safe assumption to make.
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