After a night when the Patriots showed off their Super Bowl 51 banner and relentlessly harped on Roger Goodell during the off season, the Patriots got exactly what they deserved in the 2017 Season Opener.
The Patriots lost on the field big time, allowing the Chiefs to take away a 17-7 lead held in the first half, giving the Patriots a loss with a final score of 42-27.
The Patriots went into this game with season predictions of going 16-0.
Alex Smith became the first quarterback to throw for 300 yards, also with four touchdowns and zero interceptions against Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Alex Smith was able to do something even Peyton Manning was unable to do. Even after a resounding loss, the Patriots are still considered to be on the right track.
In the past, the Patriots have always found a way to come out on top, even when starting off the season not so well.
When asked about this, Belichick was not looking to reminisce.
“I think I’ve said it 1,000 times,” Belichick said. “I don’t think anything that we did was really good enough. I’m not really interested in living in the past, which constantly keeps coming up in everything about some other year than this year and this team. I don’t really think all that is relevant because we’re talking about another team. But we get 1,000 questions about it every week. So I’m really concerned about the 2017 team and what this team is, what this team needs to do. I’m not trying to live in the past like everybody else is.”
This itself is such a “classic Bill.” He’s not buying it, and he is focused on what they need to do this year. This type of attitude is probably why the Patriots have been so successful.
But lets look at the facts here; historically the Patriots have not done very well in preseason and typically the first week is everything short of perfect.
The last three times New England lost a season-opening game before Thursday night, the Pats went on to win the Super Bowl. In 2001, they lost to the Bengals, in 2003 they lost to the Bills and in 2014, they lost to the Dolphins. Also in 2014, people thought they were witnessing “The Fall of the Patriots.”
They started off the Season 2-2, losing by a big margin of 41-14 to none other than the Kanas City Chiefs. When this happened, people called Tom Brady “washed up” and “finished.”
There were even questions regarding whether Brady was the right man for the job.
In a post-game conference in 2014, Belichick was asked whether Brady was still the right man for the job and he just laughed.
After the 2014, 2-2 start, the Patriots went on to win two Super Bowls over the next three years.
At this point in his career, Tom Brady is 40-years-old, and he is without his leading receiver Julian Edelman. The question is, can the Patriots win the Super Bowl for the sixth time?
Can they even win the division again?
On Thursday, Sept. 7, Brady did not throw for a touchdown, finishing 16 for 36 for 267 yards. He did not by any means have a great game.
“I just think we need to have more urgency and go out there and perform a lot better,” Brady said
“It’s a winning attitude, a championship attitude you have to bring every day. We had it handed to us on our own field.”
The Patriots have made a habit of having the ability to replace people, but can they truly replace someone like Julian Edelman?
They did it without Gronk last year, but he’s back now, so only time will tell where the Patriots end up.
Will history repeat itself, or do the Patriots not have what it takes to be a Super Bowl team?
Paul Bean can be contacted at pbean@kscequinox.com
