Patriots watch lead on pack fade as problems pile up
The New England Patriots have lost Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski. And now they are in danger of losing their grasp on a first-round playoff bye.
The Patriots were stunned at home by the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, 35-28. It was the Patriots’ second consecutive loss after winning their first 10 games, and they are now tied in the AFC with the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos, who beat the Patriots last week, at 10-2. The two game losing streak is New England's first since 2012.
The loss to the Broncos last week was almost understandable – it came in overtime, on the road, in a blizzard, against the NFL’s No. 1 defense and after losing Gronkowski to a knee injury late in the fourth quarter.
Sunday’s loss to the reeling Eagles was far more baffling, even after a furious fourth-quarter rally in which the Patriots cut Philadelphia’s lead from 21 points to seven in the game’s final minutes.
This was a game in which quarterback Tom Brady, the likely front-runner to win the NFL’s MVP award, threw two interceptions, including one that was returned 99 yards by Malcolm Jenkins for a touchdown. He had thrown just four interceptions in the Patriots’ first 11 games.
"That's about as bad as you can do as a quarterback," Brady said of the 99-yard interception.
Though the Patriots got receiver Danny Amendola back after he missed one game with a knee injury, it was clear Brady missed the combination of Edelman and Gronkowski. He was out of sync with backup tight end Scott Chandler and had no one who could consistently create separation from the Eagles defense in the middle of the field.
“We can’t do anything about what happened," Brady said. "We just have to play better football."
The special teams meltdown is troubling, but the Patriots can't be pleased with the defensive performance.
The Eagles had been held to less than 20 points in each of their previous three games, though two of those losses came with backup quarterback Mark Sanchez. With starter Sam Bradford back, the Eagles had their biggest offensive day in weeks. Bradford threw for just 120 yards but had a pair of touchdowns, while running backs Darren Sproles, Kenjon Barner and DeMarco Murray combined for 129 rushing yards.
Philadelphia also scored a touchdown off a blocked punt, completing an all-around failure of a day for Bill Belichick’s team. Philadelphia’s 35 points were the most allowed by New England all season, and the most since the Buffalo Bills scored 32 in Week 2. New England has now allowed 62 points in the past two games.
That’s not a formula for a team that is peaking in time for the playoffs.
Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.
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