Patriots Loss To Chiefs Really May Signal End of Dynasty

Kansas City 23, New England 16  

Up until, and even though, last week, the Patriots losses did not really alter my belief that they still had that same toughness and drive that has made them and kept them champions. This loss, admittedly, altered that. 

Why? 

Because this was the kind of game that New England would usually win, knowing just how important it was. With the Bills losing to the Ravens, the Pats had a perfect opportunity all but clinch the AFC East and lock up a playoff bye, realistically if not officially. With a win, they would keep pace with the Ravens, who hold the tiebreaker between the two teams by virtue of having won the meeting, and at least stay on their heels. 

But the Pats had been struggling offensively lately. They looked so dominant earlier in the season, racing off to an 8-0 start, and winning in incredibly dominant fashion. Suddenly, though, the offense seems stagnant and ineffective. It happened at Baltimore. It happened again last weekend at Houston. And now, it happened up in Foxboro, at home against the Chiefs. 

KC did not put up an awesome amount of points, either, but they did not need to. In the end, they finally defeated their longtime tormentors, and earned a huge win that allows them to close to within one game of the Patriots for that all valuable playoff bye. They also clinched the AFC West by virtue of this win, and Oakland’s loss. What a day for Kansas City! 

As for the Pats, they are in trouble. I thought that they were serious championship contenders, and still think that they might turn things around. But my skepticism is growing, admittedly, because they clearly have issues to work through, and they did not look good in this loss. It is not at all guaranteed that they will win against Buffalo, which means that they are not guaranteed yet to win the division. By this point in the season, New England has usually got the AFC East all wrapped up. Let’s face it: the Pats are facing far more adversity than they are used to, which will make it interesting to see how they respond. This was a bad loss, at a bad time. New England lost the possibility of a perfect season in that first loss. They lost the inside track to home field advantage with the second loss. 

Now, with this loss, they lost the inside track to the playoff bye, and realistic chance that they once had for home field advantage, and even an almost assured division title. So this one hurt, and it also betrays some serious weaknesses that we just are not used to this team having. Yes, I remember that last year, the Pats were 9-5 and there were a ton of questions and doubters. Indeed, a lot of people call them into question and quick to declare a premature death to this dynasty. I am not usually one of those, because I am in awe of how consistent this team has been. But this loss is a source of concern, and not a good sign for a team that hopes to get back to the Super Bowl, with a chance to repeat. It was either a wake-up call to a championship caliber team or, I am afraid, a signal that the dynasty really is sliding downhill. 

The good news for the Pats is that two of their next three games are against losing teams, as they are now onto Cincinnati, and host the Dolphins in the season finale. The bad news, however, is that sandwiches in between those games is a tough contest against the Bills, and it likely will be for the division title. If they keep playing the way that they are playing, I believe that they are more vulnerable than we have seen them in a long time, and they just might lose out on another AFC East title. The Patriots drop to 10-3. Hard to believe they were still 10-1 before last weekend, but they have now dropped three of their last five, including two in a row. 

My pick: Inaccurate