Betcha the Patriots lose tonight.
The Pats own a seven-game winning streak. They are coming off a high-water mark of beating the very good Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road last week. They are playing the perennially-ludicrous New York Jets tonight at home.
All signs point to one of those rallies at Gillette tonight where vehicles with oversized wheels crush small cars like Sherman tanks.
That’s why the Patriots will probably lose.
Haven’t we seen all this before? Of course we have. The Patriots were involved (but of course). It was Feb. 3, 2008 and the Patriots ended their season at 19-0 with a win. Nobody expected them to lose.
But then came David Tyree, Plaxico Burress and the decidedly-mediocre New York Giants. They won that Super Bowl and it was one of the all-time upsets in the history of professional sports.
Games like tonight’s have been called “trap games” and “reverse locks.” But whatever you call them, they can be trouble. From all indications, the Patriots survived a tough game in the heat last Sunday, while the Jets were handling the once-again moribund Cleveland Browns. In fact, the Jets have won two straight after losing seven in a row. Maybe they’re on a roll.
Drake Maye, as well as he’s played this fall, is still only in his second year. At this point in Tom Brady’s career, the Patriots were banking on a stout defense and power running game. This time, Maye is definitely a major part of the mix. Those of us who have seen things go wrong in a hurry (and if you’re a Boston sports fan, you most certainly HAVE) always have this nagging feeling that the other shoe could drop at any time.
Also, unless you’re delusional, you have to admit the Patriots have beaten some tomato cans this season that Andy Warhol might have had a hand in designing. It’s much easier to find your footing when you’re not being served up a steady diet of Patrick Mahomes and Matthew Staffords.
This isn’t meant to be critical. Nobody can find fault with what the Patriots have done thus far, unless you think that since they gave away the Pittsburgh game, they should be 9-1 instead of 8-2. But even the most optimistic among us never expected 8-2.
I will admit the last time I had this feeling was in 2011 when the Red Sox tore the league apart from May through August, then went completely in the tank during September. However, in 2001, when Brady began his otherworldly career, I kept waiting for the Patriots to lose and fall back to earth — and of course, they did not. We all know how that turned out.
Suppose they do lose tonight. That would be, as Popeye used to say, “embarrasskin.”
The real indication of a team this young, and with a still-relatively inexperienced quarterback, is how they respond. Their next game after tonight is in Cincinnati against the Bengals. It hasn’t been a banner season for the “Bungles,” but they’re a team that can very easily hang an “L” on you.
Going forward, the Patriots still have to deal with the Ravens and Bills in December. I suspect they’re fully aware they cannot take anything for granted. Coach Mike Vrabel owes more to Bill Parcells than Bill Belichick. (You cannot go wrong emulating either.) Vrabel will, I’m sure, remind them they cannot take anything for granted.
The uneasy feeling over “trap” games reinforces the reality that what the Patriots did for 20 years in this league was truly remarkable. They were a collection of machines. They rarely got caught in trap games. At their best, they rolled over everyone.
I’m not sure this team is there yet. This is why they have to keep their wits about them tonight and avoid the trap. The atmosphere seems to be ripe for a comedown.
