The Patriots didn’t take care of business Sunday, and as a result, their path to Super Bowl LIV has become far more difficult.
New England lost hold of its first-round bye with an inexplicable home loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 17. The Patriots now will have to play on Wild Card Weekend for the first time in a decade, and their opponent Saturday night will be far from a cakewalk.
The Titans, who clinched the AFC’s sixth seed with a win over the Houston Texans on Sunday, very well could be on upset alert in Foxboro. Tennessee features a fairly strong defense, a pair of wideouts with game-changing potential and, of course, 2019 rushing champion Derrick Henry. As such, Tony Dungy believes the Patriots will have their work cut out for them this weekend.
“Watch out New England,” Tony Dungy said on NBC’s “Football Night in America,” as transcribed by WEEI. “You were this close to having a bye, but now you have to deal with Derrick Henry and that smash-mouth running game. It’s not going to be fun.”
If the Patriots manage to get past the Titans, next on the docket would be a trip to Kansas City in the division round. It’s safe to say a road matchup with the red-hot Chiefs wouldn’t be much fun either.
