The New England Patriots won eight straight games to start the 2019 season, but it wasn’t a simple task.
Tom Brady told NBC he considered himself “the most miserable 8-0 quarterback in the NFL” at the time. And it showed in his postgame press conferences in the weeks leading up to Pats’ Week 9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
New England has had plenty of ups and downs in 2019, to say the least. While the Pats’ defense is the best it’s been in quite some time, the offense isn’t the strong suit it’s been in seasons past.
On top of the Antonio Brown drama early on, New England’s offense has battled the injury bug through 13 of the 17-week season. Center David Andrews (blood clots), fullbacks James Develin (neck) and Jakob Johnson (shoulder), wideout Gunner Olszewski (ankle/hamstring) and kicker Stephen Gostowski (hip) all are on injured reserve.
And while the Pats gained the likes of Mohamed Sanu in Week 8, things still haven’t been the smoothest for the offense. New England has gone through a rotation of kickers, and continues to be spread thin at receiver, leaving Brady with increasingly limited options.
So while some outside of New England may scoff at the idea of being bothered by an 8-0 start, there’s still plenty of logic behind Brady’s frustrations. But, on the flip side, an 8-0 record certainly isn’t something to take for granted, either.
