One could argue the Patriots’ roster ranks among the worst in the NFL purely from a talent perspective.
Still, New England is one win away from a .500 record and it is hanging on to its playoff hopes, albeit by a thread. Bill Belichick’s team has put itself in position to win the majority of its games this season despite an underwhelming offense and a defense that’s proven to be inconsistent.
These deficiencies beg the question: How have the Patriots managed to be fairly competitive in 2020? Chris Simms seems to believe it comes down to not minimizing any of the three phases.
“The Patriots — the great thing about them — every week it’s like the most complementary football ever and it’s all three phases,” Simms said Sunday on NBC’s “Football Night in America.” “It seems like every week a team plays them and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah. We forgot about that phase. Oh, right. Special teams’ or whatever. But, four out of five they’ve won, right? That one loss was Cam Newton driving against the Buffalo Bills. So as ugly as it’s been, I give them a lot of credit for hanging in there and being competitive still.”
The Patriots certainly will need to play well-rounded football the rest of the way if they’re going to have any chance of reaching the postseason. Up next for New England is a trip to Los Angeles for a Week 13 matchup with the Chargers.
