It wasn’t just a hysterical fanbase or the overreacting media.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft was a little concerned as well, after his team took a 41-14 pounding from the Chiefs earlier this season.
During an interview on SiriusXM Radio, Kraft said he was “definitely worried” about his team after that loss.
“This isn’t a game of robots,” Kraft said, via Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal. “When you have probably a third to 40 percent of your roster as turnover, you don’t know if the mental toughness is there. I’m just happy it came back. The last five games have been outstanding.”
His team has certainly rebounded and shown that toughness, winning five straight in impressive fashion.
“We started the season out there 2-2, and of course we got completely shellacked that Monday night out in Kansas City. It might be the worst beating I‘ve had as an owner and of course in the Belichick era it was the worst in the past 15 years,” Kraft said. “I know all the sages in the media were calling for us to trade Tommy [Brady] or sit him and [Bill] Belichick had lost it. Maybe in a way it was a good thing. It shook us up. In moments of crisis, you either rise to great things or you crumble. Our guys came together.
“We have a great group of guys in the locker room. They really rallied. With all the credit Tommy and Bill get for the great jobs they do, we have a balance. Our defense is really solid. Having [Rob Gronkowski] back on the field, you can see what that means. Having [Darrelle] Revis and [Brandon] Browner in the secondary, I wish we had them in the [AFC] championship last year.”
Perhaps the Patriots might not have reacted so well without absorbing such a beating, but at the moment, they look like the best team in the AFC, if not the league.
