New England Patriots: A Look Back at 3 Weeks of Dominance
During the Patriots' 36-7 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday evening, Jim Nantz mentioned that the Patriots have gone on a ridiculous tear. Over the past 10 quarters, the Patriots have outscored their opponents, 109-10.
I could brag about how prophetic I was in my article posted this afternoon, but I'll save that for another article.
Instead, I'll look at how the Patriots have put together this amazing run of dominance against two teams that were both considered big-time contenders.
Thanksgiving: at Detroit Lions
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Down 24-17 in the third quarter against the Lions, Tom Brady started with bad field position off a bad kick return by Brandon Tate. A run play for no gain was followed by an eight-yard completion to Rob Gronkowski, setting up 3rd-and-2.
All that talk of the Patriots offense no longer being able to take the top off the defense went right down the toilet on the very next play: a 79-yard catch-and-run by Deion Branch.
From there, it was all Patriots. Literally. Brady took the team on a 28-point run to close out the game, which ended in a 45-24 blowout that seemed nothing resembling the back-and-forth game in the first half that was dominated by the Lions.
But that was just the beginning of things to come.
Monday Night Football: vs. New York Jets
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It was everything Patriots fans had hoped for since Hard Knocks.
It was the complete domination of both an offense and a defense of the smash-mouth variety that were supposed to be big-time mismatches for the Patriots and their finesse style of play.
It was 45-3.
The Patriots defense held Mark Sanchez to just 17-of-33 passing for 164 yards and three interceptions. Brady, meanwhile, was near perfect on the day, going 21-for-29 for 326 yards and four touchdowns.
After this game, the Patriots had extended their ridiculous run to 73-3 in six quarters of play. But were the Patriots done? Of course not...
Sunday: at Chicago Bears
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The snow, freezing temperatures and swirling winds of Chicago's Soldier Field were supposed to slow down the onslaught of the Patriots offense, especially against a stingy Bears defense.
That just never happened.
Brady threw two touchdowns, and tied Don Meredith's record of consecutive games with two or more touchdowns.
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Thank You, Tom Brady
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During this 10-quarter period since the Lions game, Brady has gone an incredible 56-for-77 for 894 yards and nine touchdowns without an interception.
In the Patriots five wins, he is a ridiculous 118-for-164 for 1,572 yards, 15 touchdowns and 0 INTs.
Steve Young put it best when he said in a guest appearance on Pardon the Interruption that Brady is playing in a Michael Jordan zone at the moment. There's really no other explanation for how he's performing as well as he is against quality defenses week after week.
Thank You, Bill Belichick
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Most teams are lucky to have a full set of 11 men they're comfortable starting. Bill Belichick is comfortable starting anyone. Belichick has made one point abundantly clear: If you mess up, your job is in jeopardy.
As evidenced at the beginning of the fourth quarter against the Jets, Belichick is keeping his team motivated even when the score is heavily in their favor.
Of course, he gave all the credit to the players in his postgame press conference after the annihilation of the Bears, saying, "They executed and did the things we needed to do. They've done it before and they've stepped up and did it again today. I'm really proud of the way they performed."
That's about as high a compliment as anyone can expect from the usually stoic head coach.
Season Has Been Successful...
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In a year where many considered the Patriots a rebuilding team that might miss the playoffs, New England has gone out of their way to prove the contrary by beating quality teams in impressive fashion.
It's cute to talk about the 109-10 run of dominance, but it really diminishes what the Patriots have accomplished this year.
Beating teams like the Ravens, Chargers, Colts, Steelers, Jets and now the Bears is a lot more than most fans thought to expect in the preseason.
...but Nothing Is Accomplished Yet
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Deion Branch acknowledged that even though the Patriots clinched a playoff berth for the eighth year in the past decade, they haven't truly accomplished anything yet.
The Patriots have a great mix of near-sightedness in their preparation, with an eye to the future and the long-term goal of a Super Bowl.
It's great to beat good teams in the regular season, but the Colts have proven time and time again that impressive wins in the regular season don't do anything in the playoffs and that there is no championship for the best regular-season team.
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