Remember when the season started and everyone wondered whether or not the Patriots would ever face a real challenge? Remember when they blew through everyone and made things seem easy?
A 33-3 rout over Pittsburgh on opening night when the Steelers had a healthy Ben Roesthlisberger under center. In stepped Antonio Brown and they coasted through the Dolphins for a 43-0 win in Miami. A 30-14 win over the Jets when the offense scored on its first three possessions and enjoyed the fruits of its labor the rest of the way.
The Bills gave them a fight in a 16-10 win at Buffalo that could’ve been a different game had Tom Brady not tossed an interception in the end zone. Then, after passing their first true test of the year, the Patriots responded with a 33-7 rout at Washington, a 35-14 win over the Giants and a 33-0 shutout at the Jets, when the “boogeymen” made Sam Darnold say “I’m seeing ghosts.”
At that point the Patriots were 7-0 and firing on all cylinders. And we wondered if anyone was even capable of standing in their way.
What happened to that team?
Sunday night in Houston, the Patriots looked like anything but the team that started the season cake walking through its competition. And it was difficult to watch.
Brady and his receivers, who struggled to get separation, weren’t on the same page for the majority of the night. The offensive line surrendered 12 quarterback hits and three sacks. The defense, particularly the secondary, wasn’t quite as sharp against a comfortable and confident Deshaun Watson. And special teams, for goodness’ sake, didn’t help when kicker Kai Forbath, who was waived Monday, missed a PAT in the third quarter- in a dome. Add it all together and a Houston team that normally doesn’t hold a candle to the Patriots flipped the script Sunday night.
The defense had a bad night. I get that. Chances are if Houston has to come to Foxboro for a playoff game, Watson won’t be quite as cool, calm and collected as he was on his home turf. As long as the key guys can stay healthy, I’m not too concerned about the defense holding its weight. They’ve risen to the occasion time and time again. We know they’re legit.
But if the Patriots are going to celebrate next season’s opening night with banner No. 7, the offense has to complete a 180-degree turnaround with four weeks to do so.
The passing game’s a mess. Without Rob Gronkowski, Brady looks to Julian Edelman, Phillip Dorsett and James White get the air attack moving. If defenses take those guys away, as we’ve seen through stretches over the past few weeks, things get ugly. Brady needs a bigger security blanket.
There was a lot of excitement when Mohamed Sanu arrived at Gillette three weeks ago. He caught 10 passes for 81 yards in the loss at Baltimore. Since then? Just five catches for 18 yards in two games.
N’Keal Harry is finally healthy after missing the first nine games of the season. He showed no physicality fighting for Bradley Roby’s interception in the first quarter Sunday. Brady never looked his way again. There’s no trust there.
Jakobi Meyers has shown potential in spurts but he hasn’t caught a touchdown pass all season. The three tight ends — Ryan Izzo, Matt LaCosse and Ben Watson — have combined for one touchdown reception. That’s far from the production you need at that position.
The running game was the strength of the offense during the playoffs last season. But without center David Andrews and fullback James Develin, the Patriots haven’t been able to run the ball as effectively as they did then. At times, Sony Michel can break through for a nice 17-yard run like he did on the opening drive Sunday. Other times, Michel barely makes something out of nothing. Rex Burkhead (54 rushing yards over the past five games) hasn’t been much better.
The offensive line was counting on Isaiah Wynn’s return to get the unit back on track. Allowing 12 quarterback hits Sunday was a major step back.
If there’s a team that can figure things out when the clock’s ticking it’s the Patriots. They didn’t look like a team bound for the Super Bowl when they were 9-5 after a 17-10 loss at Pittsburgh last December. They figured it out.
Somehow, someway the Patriots will get back to playing their best football. But we wondered if a challenge would make its way to Foxboro this season. Now the Patriots are being challenged.
