Thirteen days ago, the Patriots were entering a game against the Dolphins that some (outrageously) called the biggest regular-season game of the Brady-Belichick Era.
The Pats were 1-2 and looked like ass in getting there. The Dolphins were 3-0, zipping all over the field on offense, creating turnovers on defense, ready to knock the Patriots from their AFC East perch and put them three games behind in the divisional race.
End of Days! End of Days!
It looked bleak. And then it didn’t.
The Patriots got up 24-0 on Miami by halftime and led 38-0 before a meaningless touchdown at the end. Last Thursday, they got up on the Colts 24-3 by halftime and won 38-24 after getting a little loose defensively in the fourth quarter.
So after scoring 76 points in two games, getting Julian Edelman back from suspension, creating a running game, incorporating Josh Gordon in the offense and getting more room for James White and Rob Gronkowski to operate, all laments about what the Patriots woulda/coulda/shoulda done in the offseason have been pocketed.
All fixed!
New England Patriots
This Sunday, the Patriots face a more tangible challenge than the abstract one the Dolphins posed to the two-decade dynasty’s sense of self. Or what we supposed that sense of self to be.
The Kansas City Chiefs are the best team in the NFL through five games.
And -- instead of coming to Foxboro to further flatten the roadkill the Patriots appeared on their way to becoming -- they will face a team in full.
It’s Bill Belichick with 10 days to prepare. Patrick Mahomes channeling Kurt Warner circa 2000 for an offense . Tom Brady with a purpose. Andy Reid with every kind of offensive toy he could possibly want to drive a bendy defense to its breaking point.
The Chiefs are fresh off their demolition of the Jaguars (now there’s a team that bought right into its own hype). They hung 30 on Jacksonville and were up 23-0 before winning 30-14. The Patriots virtually couldn’t move against Jacksonville in Week 2.
We have all week to highlight the matchups and incorrectly predict what will happen. So let’s table that for now.
Instead, let’s take a bird’s eye view of this and realize that Kansas City isn’t the greatest regular-season challenge the Patriots will face, just the latest.
This game is no bigger than last year’s Week 15 game at Pittsburgh when the Steelers were 11-2, the Patriots were 10-3 and the loser was destined to be on the road for the AFC Championship. As it turned out, the Steelers gagged in the Divisional Round, but it was still an amazing game.
In 2016, it was the Seahawks on a Sunday night.
In 2015, it was the Colts at Indy post-Deflategate on a Sunday night. And then it was the Chris Harper game at Denver on a Sunday night when the Patriots were 10-0.
In 2014, it was the Bengals on a Sunday night after the Chiefs demolished New England six days earlier. And later that season it was at Green Bay for a Brady-Aaron Rodgers dance.
In 2013, it was the Return of Welker game against Peyton Manning and the Broncos when the Patriots erased a 24-0 deficit and won in overtime after taking the wind. On a Sunday night
In 2012, it was the Ravens in the replacement ref game on a Sunday night. And it was the Texans in varsity jackets on a Monday night.
That’s eight times in six seasons we’ve geared up for regular-season games that were supposed to be epic showdowns and generally were.
Sometimes those games have been harbingers of things to come. Sometimes they were just signposts. Always, they’ve been memorable because of who the Patriots have been and what their opponent is trying to become.
Sunday night, it’s the Chiefs turn to take a shot at the crown. The way things are going so far (I know: it’s dangerous to use recent history as fodder for future predictions), this won’t be the only time in 2018 their paths cross.