Category: Patriots

New England fans have myriad reasons to give thanks this holiday season, the latest a satisfying 33-8 win over Oakland at Mexico City. The Patriots spent 10 days at altitude, training at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs after the previous week's handling of the Broncos. The travel plans seemed to pay off, as … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Raiders Review

We'll get to New England's 41-16 dismantling of Denver in a minute, but first, a quick story. When the Red Sox were making their way to the 2013 World Series, I watched a reporter asked a fan in his early 20s what he was thinking when the Sox were behind. The young man never had … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Broncos Review

Say what you will about the aesthetics, this New England team has resilience. In a slugfest that looked about as pretty as a post-fight portrait from Raging Bull, the Patriots once again got notable contributions from offense, defense, and special teams to hold on for a 21-13 win on Sunday. New England heads into their bye … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Chargers Review

Well, I called that one. (Note: I did not.) I knew for weeks that the Patriots would beat the Falcons 23-7, while holding the visitors scoreless until just over four minutes remained in the contest (untrue). I also predicted that, for the first time in 2017, they would hold an opposing quarterback to under 300 … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Falcons Review

In last week's column, I said that this game against the Jets would help clarify what kind of Patriots team we had, here. However, after New England played juuust well enough to outlast New York, I'm still not so sure. While many will point to the overturned touchdown by tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins as the major … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Jets Review

The 2017 Patriots have sent their fans' emotions into more ups and downs than a bad soap opera actor. After a last-second loss to Carolina two weeks ago that had the locals keening, last Thursday's 19-14 win at Tampa Bay got everyone cheering again. Now at 3-2, New England sits atop the AFC East Division … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Buccaneers Review

By the time a team has played four games, they give us a pretty good idea of how they compare to others in the league. And, ladies and gentlemen, your New England Patriots do not compare well. With an up-and-down offense and a defense that provided stops about as frequently as the Autobahn, the Patriots … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Panthers Review

With three minutes left in the fourth quarter, few people watching this game would have predicted that the Texans would be the ones trying the Hail Mary pass. Despite getting slammed more often than a testy teenager's bedroom door, quarterback Tom Brady managed to throw a game-winning touchdown pass to receiver Brandin Cooks with 23 … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Texans Review

See? One win. That's all it took, really. One win in New Orleans to bring us back to a closer semblance of reality, a better understanding of where the Patriots sit as the end of September nears. Quarterback Tom Brady looked a lot more like his old self, the defense made some plays, and the … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Saints Review

Well, that, my friends, is how you shut the door on 2016. No more amazing comebacks fueled by consistent offense or timely defensive plays. No helpful, questionable offensive play calls from opposing coaches. Nope. Just a good, old-fashioned keister-whomp, a 42-27 drubbing courtesy of Kansas City. The lopsided loss evoked memories of past nemeses (Dan … Continue reading Patriots Thursday Observations, Chiefs Review