An opportunity to upend the Kansas City Chiefs and hold off a 2019 obituary eluded the New England Patriots on Sunday. Foxborough served as the backdrop for the Patriots’ second consecutive loss in a game that pretty much assured the road to the Super Bowl will be going through Baltimore.
Sound the death knell as every talking head in America writes off the Patriots’ chances in the playoffs.
But don’t expect a Bill Belichick-coached team to get wrapped up in the sensationalism that is to come. It’s on to Cincinnati for the Patriots. Here are five takeaways from their 23-16 loss to the Chiefs.
Officiating was god-awful
Jerome Boger’s officiating crew won’t be invited to any Boston cookouts in the near future.
You hate to put the blame on the referees for the outcome of a game, but Boger’s crew has to wear the clown mask after Sunday’s circus. There were too many blatantly blown calls that robbed the Patriots of at least two touchdowns.
The first was on a potential scoop and score from Patriots All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore off a fumble from Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Instead of allowing the play to finish, the officials blew the play dead and ruled Kelce down by contact, forcing Belichick to throw out a challenge flag to get the call overturned.
Not only did Belichick lose a challenge, but the Patriots also lost a touchdown.
Then there was the touchdown by Patriots receiver N’Keal Harry that was ultimately called back because an official believed he stepped out of bounds. Even Joe Blow in the nosebleed section with binoculars could clearly see Harry stayed in-bounds on the play.
Of course, the Patriots ran out of challenges trying to correct previous mistakes made by the officiating crew—the Kelce fumble and a blown ball placement that helped the Chiefs convert a first down.
It was easily one of the worst officiated games of the season. ESPN’s Mike Reiss had a pool report of Boger’s explanation on how his crew viewed the Harry play.
Boger missed on the explanation as bad as the referees missed on the no-touchdown call. It’s no excuse in that play not being reviewed, especially after the Patriots were hosed on their challenges from previous poor calls.
There was also the obvious pass interference that ruined a pivotal drive and took away what would have been Phillip Dorsett’s only catch of the game. It was simply a bad night all-around.
Harry needs to be more involved
The silver lining to the blown call against Harry is the possibility of more plays being drawn up for him. He has seemingly been in the dog house after a bad route turned into an interception last week against the Houston Texans.
Yet, the Patriots also have to do a better job of getting him more involved in the offense and utilizing his strengths. He showed how electric he can be with the ball in his hands against the Chiefs. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels needs to draw up more short crossing patterns, bubble screens and even jet sweeps specifically for Harry.
Everything else will come as he gains more confidence on the field.
Leaving him out in the cold isn’t helping anyone. The Patriots spent a first round draft pick on him because they expected him to make a significant impact for the team. It’s on the coaching staff to figure it out.
Offense clearly isn’t good enough
McDaniels will need the greatest play-calling of his professional career to find enough life within this Patriots offense to go on a deep playoff run.
The offensive line got bullied by an aggressive Chiefs defense that never respected the Patriots receivers to create separation. It was for good reason because that was exactly the case, again. Julian Edelman and running back James White are the only two reliable receiving targets on the team, and it showed up with both continuing to lead in receptions.
It’s also tough to win games with Brady as the second-leading rusher. He had more rushing yards than Sony Michel on Sunday.
It’s hard to envision them competing against some of the more well-rounded teams in the postseason, even if the defense continues to play at an exceptionally high level. McDaniels will need to scrape the bottom of his bag of tricks to get the offense rolling with some confidence. We saw the beginning of that on Sunday with the flea flicker touchdown pass by Brady on the first drive of the game and the 35-yard pass from White to Jakobi Meyers.
Defense passes the test
The Patriots defense responded well to getting punched in the mouth in the first-half of the game. They stormed out after the break and held the Chiefs’ explosive offense to only a field goal for the final two quarters. They gave the offense every chance to make the play to win the game.
Mahomes finished with 283 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception. You’ll take those end-game stats every day if you’re the Patriots. It’s time to end the ridiculous narrative of the defense being overrated and overhyped from playing great against bad opposition.
They faced arguably the best offense in football and shut them down for the entire second-half.
A potential rallying cry
A pretty amazing moment was seeing Belichick’s reaction to Brady’s 17-yard quarterback sneak that kept a drive alive late in the game.
Despite the outside narrative being all about decline and inner-turmoil within the organization, it was a galvanizing moment that showed the team was all-in to win on Sunday.
The Patriots got a rare look at the Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens in the regular season. There isn’t an NFL coach alive that’s better at breaking down an opponent and finding new wrinkles than Belichick. In a sense, he was given a sneak peek before taking the ultimate test in January.
The poor officiating and outside noise could serve as a legitimate rallying cry for the Patriots. Save the obituary. America’s worst nightmare isn’t quite dead yet.
