After falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, the Patriots were poised to bounce back this past Sunday.
Well, that didn't happen. In fact, New England's latest loss arguably was even uglier than the previous defeat.
The Patriots' offense effectively was nonexistent in their Week 6 loss to the Denver Broncos at Gillette Stadium. Cam Newton struggled in his first game since being removed from the reserve/COVID-19 list, though his supporting cast didn't do him any favors either.
New England's recent slide is being reflected in NFL power rankings, many of which had Bill Belichick's team in the top 10 earlier in the season. NFL.com has the Patriots at No. 12 entering Week 7, a one-spot drop-off from their position on the site's rankings last week.
"The Patriots were unable to practice much at all over the past two weeks as they dealt with COVID-19 issues, and it looked that way for the offense in an 18-12 loss to the Broncos," Dan Hanzus wrote. "New England managed just 288 total yards and turned it over three times, including a pair of Cam Newton interceptions in the QB's return from his own coronavirus-related absence. The defense deserves credit for holding the Broncos to six field goals, and two late Drew Lock interceptions pumped life back into the team. It wasn't enough, however, and the Pats are under .500 through five games for the first time in 18 years. Nobody said life without Tom Brady would be easy."
Breaking out of this skid Sunday won't be easy for the Patriots. The San Francisco 49ers surely will enter Foxboro riding high after their impressive win over the division rival Los Angeles Rams.
