Jason Whitlock sure seemed ready to write off the Patriots, and then Saturday happened.
The “Speak For Yourself” host viewed New England as “vulnerable” heading into Week 16 and believed a loss to the Buffalo Bills effectively would finish Tom Brady and Co.
Well, as they’ve done for the bulk of the past two decades, the Patriots rose to the occasion when it mattered most.
The reigning Super Bowl champions clinched their 11th consecutive AFC East title with a 24-17 win at Gillette Stadium. It was an encouraging afternoon for the Patriots, as Tom Brady put together a highly efficient performance all while New England was able to establish the running game. Whitlock still doesn’t like the Patriots’ chances of reaching Super Bowl LIV, but he no longer believes they’ll be an easy out in January.
“They’re going to be more of a problem to eliminate in the postseason than I thought,” Whitlock said Monday on FOX Sports 1. “I still will stand on this: they’re gonna get eliminated. The Chiefs or the Ravens will take care of this for me. But it’s going to be much more difficult than I anticipated because Tom Brady last week, when he was showing that frustration, tired of answering questions — everybody rallied and stepped up. Tom Brady certainly did his job. I loved the way he threw the ball away any time he was close to being in trouble. But then there was a lot of times when that pocket was just crystal clean because his offensive linemen stood up for him and those damn receivers made plays…”
"The Patriots are going to get eliminated. The Chiefs or the Ravens will take care of this for me but it’s going to be much more difficult than I anticipated." — @WhitlockJason pic.twitter.com/cKJgC0qkCB
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) December 23, 2019
We’re starting to see shades of the 2018 campaign in Foxboro. The Patriots’ championship hopes seemed bleak last season after they were handed back-to-back December losses, but solid outings in Weeks 16 and 17 seemed to catapult New England onto a deep playoff run. Saturday’s win over the Bills certainly was a step in the right direction for Bill Belichick’s group, and they should be able to march on this Sunday in their regular-season finale against the Miami Dolphins.
At this point, it’s probably tough to have unabashed confidence in the Patriots’ chances of reaching a fourth straight Super Bowl. But to completely count out New England probably is an even larger stretch.
