The New England Patriots are halfway through their season and sit atop both the AFC East and the entire NFL with a record of 7-1. The Pats also find themselves at the top of many NFL power rankings entering Week nine, which just so happens to be the Patriots bye week.
With Tom Brady back and Rob Gronkowski seemingly back to full health, the Patriots offense has proven to be one of the best in the league thus far. Not only does the offense rank in the top 10 in points per game and yards per game, but New England has scored 30+ points in three out of four games with Brady back under center.
Below is a New England Patriots Mid-Season Review.
New England Patriots Mid-Season Review
Games Without Tom Brady
There were so many questions surrounding Bill Belichick‘s team heading into the Patriots Week one against the Arizona Cardinals. Many die-hard Patriots fans doubted a winning record though four games was even possible. On top of not having one of the best quarterbacks of all time on the field, the offensive line was a huge concern heading into the season. Would this group be able to rebound from a dismal 2015 campaign? Would they be healthy enough? Was there enough depth? Could they protect Jimmy Garoppolo?
The answers to those questions were all “yes”. After playing well, yet barely escaping Arizona with a win, the Patriots headed back east to Gillette Stadium for three straight home games. Instead of continuing to prove his worth to Patriot Nation in those three games, Garoppolo injured the AC joint in his throwing shoulder at the end of the first half against the Miami Dolphins. Garoppolo barely had the chance to prove himself in his greatest opportunity to do so, and now his impressive 1.5 games as a starter are an after thought.
Jacoby Brissett, the Patriots third string quarterback and rookie out of North Carolina State took over for Garoppolo against Miami. Brissett only threw nine passes, but connected on six of them for 92 yards and did just enough to hold off a furious comeback from the Dolphins.
Next up were the Houston Texans. At the time, many thought this was the game the Patriots would lose without Brady. Rookie quarterback on short rest? Check. Struggling offensive weapons? Check. Undefeated opponent with a scary-good defense? Check. Everything was lining up nicely for the Texans until the game started. In a shocking result, the Patriots won 27-0 and seemed poised for perfection even without Brady.
Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills
Leave it to Rex Ryan to make things interesting, though. Ryan’s Buffalo Bills had started the year 0-2 but came to Gillette that Sunday with the chance to get to 2-2. Prior to the game how poorly the Bills typically play the Patriots was brought up several times. Rex Ryan was also put on blast by the Boston media for calling himself an above average coach, to which he responded “I’ll show you average on Sunday.”
For the first time in a long time, all of Rex’s big talking worked. The Bills did the unthinkable and came into Gillette Stadium and left victorious. What hurt most about the loss was the fact that it was a shutout to a divisional opponent. The Bills victory meant that at the time, the Patriots held a one game lead in the division with Brady set to make his return on the road against the Cleveland Browns the following week.
Post-Tom Brady
Three wins in four games without Brady was better than Patriots fans thought coming into the season, but all across New England there was a feeling that the team just didn’t look or feel the same without Brady. When he made his return against the Browns, Brady made sure to put on a show and put Patriots fans at ease. For just the eighth time in his career, Brady threw for over 406 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Order had been restored.
All of the uncertainty surrounding the Patriots backup quarterbacks was over. Brady was back, and fans could immediately see that the chip he has carried around on his shoulder his entire career was now bigger than ever. Three touchdowns and over 400 yards just isn’t supposed to happen after missing live action for four weeks. But, then again, sixth-round draft picks aren’t supposed to be in the G.O.A.T conversation either.
The Patriots next two games were also against AFC North teams, and two dangerous teams at that. The Cincinnati Bengals featured A.J Green and a record that didn’t match the team’s talent level. The Pittsburgh Steelers had almost their full compliment of play makers, including Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. It was a shame that Ben Roethlisberger missed the game due to a surgery, because the game could have gone differently if he had played.
Brady’s final line against the AFC North was pretty impressive. 1,004 pass yards, eight touchdowns, zero interceptions, a 75% completion rate, and a perfect 3-0 record. Tom Brady was officially back, and any talk of him being rusty was laughable. It was time for payback against the Bills.
Rex Ryan Round II
For the Patriots second tilt against the Bills, Rex Ryan was more subdued in the days leading up to the game. He didn’t pose as a Buffalo reporter jokingly asking Julian Edelman questions about the game plan this time around. Tom Brady was playing instead of an injured third string quarterback. It almost seemed as if Rex knew what he was in for.
For the Patriots, and their fans, this game had “revenge” written all over it. Bill Belichick probably wasn’t too happy with a shutout loss at home to the Ryan brothers and Tom Brady didn’t want the stain of a loss to the Bills to ruin his march towards accepting the Lombardi Trophy from Roger Goodell.
Last Word
The worst week of the football season for Patriots fans is here. New England’s bye week. It is also the halfway point of the regular season for the Patriots. Bill Belichick and the Patriots are notoriously good in the second half of a season, and they face a favorable schedule the rest of the way. Expect another playoff appearance from the Patriots this year.
Speaking of the postseason, it is a perfect time to, possibly, prematurely size up the rest of the AFC and which team might challenge Patriots for home field throughout the playoffs and who the Patriots might not want to see in the postseason. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the Patriots have the best record in football. The next best teams in the AFC reside in the AFC West. Both the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders are 6-2, but only one will challenge the Patriots for a first-round bye.
The AFC South features no real threatening teams because they win most of their games against other weak teams. The best team in that division right now is Houston, but injuries and a low-production offense will plague the Texans chances of making a deep playoff run. The AFC North may only have one representative this year, and all indications are that it will be the Steelers. Pittsburgh always poses a threat to the Patriots, so Patriots fans should be on the lookout for another meeting with the Steelers down the road.
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