Losing Always Hurts

The flip side of love isn't hate; it's pain.

My pigskin heroes failed Saturday night in Indianapolis for the first time in a long time. Well, a long time in terms of football. And they did so in spectacularly comedic fashion, doing all those things the Men of Belichick are famous for not doing. A blocked punt. Unforced errors. A seeming lack of familiarity with the fundamentals of the game of football. All the things the Patriots were doing on their way to a 2-4-0 start; all the things I thought they'd fixed on their way to a 7-game winning streak.

Ouch. 

Yes, losing always hurts but it hurts more when it's the last game of the season and that last game is in the playoffs. Or the Super Bowl. Still, this loss does hurt quite a bit. It makes it exponentially more difficult for New England to gain the #1 seed in the AFC bracket of the playoffs. It makes next Sunday's game against Buffalo a "must win." It raises the stakes for the Jacksonville and Miami games as well.

If it is a "wake-up call" (as eminence grise Matthew Slater put it), it certainly comes at the right time. 

Is there a silver lining here? A few thoughts…

If a winning streak has to end, it's best it ends in the regular season.

As mentioned above, it definitely deserves repeating. I don't think I need to explain that one to Patriots fans. If you know, you know.

Anyone can have a bad day at the office, even our demigods of the gridiron.

The Patriots shot themselves in the foot so many times in this game I'm surprised they have any toes left. If anyone beat the Patriots Saturday night it was the Patriots.

Mac Jones made some throws you just aren't supposed to make with a bicep made of bucatini.

I'm not sure how he does it, but Jones seems to be both overhyped and underestimated all at the same time. 

Despite how badly they played in the first half, they didn't quit and made a game of it in the second half.

I believe the signature song of the Belichick era Patriots should be "Sure Shot" because they can't and they won't and they don't stop.

There's still a chance…

New England needs help but there's still an opportunity to finish 12-5-0, to win the AFC East, and to make Foxborough the destination for the AFC Championship game.

If you'd told me on October 18, the Monday after the OT loss to the Cowboys, the Patriots would be in this position heading into Christmas week, I would've smiled, wondered if you were maybe off your meds, and then made some excuse to be somewhere else as you were very likely a threat to yourself and others. Yet, here we are, and now I'm wondering if maybe you might have some thoughts on the money line for the Bills game? Call me.

Go Pats!