Last night’s prime-time game against the Lions was supposed to be the 2018 version of “on to Cincinnati.” And now the Patriots are on to Miami.
For the second straight Sunday, the Patriots have lost by 10 or more points. It’s the first time the Patriots have had back-to-back losses of that magnitude since 2002.
“I don’t really care anything about any other year, or any other team, or any other month or anything else,” coach Bill Belichick told reporters on Monday regarding the question of putting a loss behind him. “We’ve just got to take a look at the situation we’re in right now and figure out how to improve it. That’s what we’ll try to do.”
They have their work cut out for them. The Dolphins come to Gillette Stadium on Sunday, looking for their first win there since the Wildcat game of 2008. A loss by the home team also would result in the first Patriots three-game losing streak since a 3-0 start in 2002 became 3-4.
“I feel pretty sure that everybody that participated in the game -- player or coach -- feels like they could’ve done a better job,” Belichick said regarding Sunday night’s loss to the Lions and former New England defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. “I certainly feel that way. I know every member of the coaching staff feels that way. I talked to quite a few of the players after the game and they all feel that way, too. We just have to go back to work and find a way to all do a better job than that.”
It may be much easier said that done. The Patriots simply don’t seem to have the talent that they need to compete with quality opponents, which means that scheme and effort and other things related to knowing what needs to be done won’t matter if they simply can’t physically do it.
