There is a lot of concern flowing in and through the camp of the New England Patriots following a humiliating Monday Night Football loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Not all is lost, though.
1. Because Bill Belichick Always Finds A Way
Of all the head coaches in the NFL, none is better at taking a fragile situation, examining ways to work through it, and then successfully arriving at a new plan, than Bill Belichick. This is the master of putting together spare parts and making them fit on the field. Belichick uses players in so many different combinations to not only get the best out of their abilities, but to show them ways of playing that they had not previously considered. This is how New England gets so much variety from its players and has an answer for what the opposition is trying to do.
If there’s any coach a team should want as its leader in a time of crisis, it’s Belichick. He has proven himself so many times that there’s very little reason to doubt him. New England might be going through a long drought without a Super Bowl title, but this organization has made the AFC Championship Game in each of the last three seasons, often with highly flawed rosters. Belichick is this team’s rock.
2. Because It’s Still Tom Brady
This is the other core reason the Patriots are still going to be okay. Brady had a horrible night on Monday against the Kansas City Chiefs, but he’s still Tom Brady, and he’s still winning at a high level. Brady has been the on-field extension of Belichick, the player who demands a lot from his teammates but is always able to lead by example. Brady is one of the greatest competitors football has ever seen, and he has been able to make Belichick’s vision come alive. He has been able to work with a lot of castoffs and other no-name players to get them to fit into the Patriots’ offense. He has been able to win by relying on the short pass when so many other quarterbacks feel the need to have to push the ball down the field, which only gets them into trouble because of the risks involved in such an approach. Brady will clean up his game this season and get the Patriots back on track. Why? It’s what he does.
3. Because The AFC East And South Are So Weak
The Patriots are also going to be fine for reasons that don’t directly apply to them. The AFC East is such a bad division that the Patriots should still win it without too much of a problem. New England will host at least one playoff game this season and should be in very good position to win that particular game. The other point to bring up is that the AFC South is also weak, with Tennessee and Houston cooling off after winning their opening games of the regular season.
Indianapolis has already lost twice, so when you look at the larger AFC picture, the Patriots are still very much in line for a top-three seed. If the Patriots can get this upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football, they’ll have a very realistic chance at a top-two seed and a first-round playoff bye. They’re right there in the race for the bye, which will give them a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl.
