The Patriots’ primary weakness seems to become more glaring with each passing week.
New England’s offense turned in another dud this past Sunday night in a loss to the Texans. While the 28-22 final score and Tom Brady’s 326-yard, three-touchdown performance suggest the Patriots had at least a level of success moving the ball, it wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter when Houston took its foot off the gas that the visitors’ offense showed signs of life.
The Patriots lost hold of the No. 1 seed in the AFC standings with their second loss of the season and could be in danger of playing on Wild Card weekend for the first time since the 2009 campaign. They also took a dip in Colin Cowherd’s NFL power rankings heading into Week 14.
“They’re 22nd in the NFL in the red zone. That is a ‘Where’s Gronk (Rob Gronkowski)’ problem? They’re just not as good getting touchdowns when they get close,” Cowherd said Tuesday on FS1’s “The Herd.” “They settled for field goals and you can’t settle for field goals against Kansas City and Baltimore going forward. They’ve been held to 22 points or less in four games. In fact, their last four. So people have film on it. They know there’s no deep threat. They’re incredibly coached and very resourceful, love their special teams and defense, but limitations over the top — New England at eight.”
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8. New England Patriots
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2. Seattle Seahawks
1. ??@ColinCowherd gives his Herd Hierarchy after Week 13: pic.twitter.com/ROJn5v4AWw— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) December 3, 2019
New England will be hard-pressed to post a bounce-back performance this weekend, as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will roll into Foxboro on Sunday hungry to avenge their loss to the Patriots in last season’s AFC Championship Game.
