It's had to feel good about the Patriots after what happened Monday night at Gillette Stadium.
A bad Chicago Bears offense thoroughly dominated New England's defense, which entered the game as an ascending group on a roll. The Patriots' offense did a whole lot of nothing while watching its quarterback situation become more chaotic -- thanks to Bill Belichick. The 33-14 loss also saw another bad game from New England's special teams unit, with Jake Bailey continuing to perform like one of the league's worst punters. So much for "complementary football."
The Patriots now are 20-20 in the post-Tom Brady era. The fans have turned on the franchise quarterback. It's getting ugly for Bill Belichick and company.
And yet, there still are reasons to feel optimistic about the Patriots. It's not all doom and gloom in Foxboro.
First of all, the Patriots are 3-4, the same as they were this time last year. After starting 2-4 in 2021, New England went on a seven-game winning streak to carry a 9-4 record into the bye week. Belichick's team wound up cratering down the stretch and got decimated in the postseason by the Buffalo Bills, but the Patriots still made the playoffs.
And while this season's mid-season slate doesn't look quite as easy as last year's, the Patriots still face a winnable stretch of games.
Week 8: at New York Jets
Week 9: vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week 10: BYE
Week 11: vs. Jets
Yeah, the Jets are 5-2 and their defense looks great, but Zach Wilson has been a disaster at quarterback and rookie running back Breece Hall just went down with a season-ending ACL tear. As for the Colts, they benched Matt Ryan and are rolling with sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who's never thrown a pass in an NFL game.
Patriots fans easily could wake up on Monday, Nov. 21, with their team in first place and in control of its playoff destiny. New England's schedule then gets much tougher, though not as daunting as many expected it to be before the season started.
Week 12: at Minnesota Vikings ("Thursday Night Football")
Week 13: vs. Bills ("Thursday Night Football")
Week 14: at Arizona Cardinals ("Monday Night Football")
Week 15: at Las Vegas Raiders ("Sunday Night Football")
Week 16: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Week 17: vs. Miami Dolphins
Week 18: at Bills
Obviously, there are some tough games in there, and playing in primetime for four straight weeks will be a tough ask. But Kirk Cousins and the Vikings always are beatable, and the Cardinals have developed a habit of fading in the second half under Kliff Kingsbury. The Raiders are 2-4 and the Bengals, while undeniably talented, still have an awful offensive line.
New England finished 10-7 last season. It's entirely possible it does the same in 2022.
Finally, it's worth remembering how playoff seeding works.
When you're a middling team like the Patriots are, tiebreakers are everything. Head-to-head records, in-conference records and common-opponents records all can come into play.
As such, losing to an NFC team like the Bears really doesn't matter. It was a bad loss, to be sure, but it might not mean much when all is said and done.
So, relax, Patriots fans -- there's plenty of season left. New England once again has dug itself into a hole, but there's a clear way out.
