A familiar looking loss for Patriots in Buffalo

There was something about Sunday’s loss to the Bills that seemed eerily reminiscent of many of the games the Patriots have lost over the past few seasons. Ever since 2008 there is almost always a moment of thinking our offense is unstoppable, that it could get ugly. Then suddenly it all falls apart. The offense stalls. The defense starts getting gashed. The leads slowly melts away until the Patriots make a game saving interception or the other team wins.

It’s the “come out like gangbusters then try to hang on” style of football and I think we’re all pretty sick of watching it.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen such a fluky day for Brady. I can write that one off. 9 games out of 10 Brady will be on. But it’s clear that the Patriots remain a team that cannot win when Brady is not on his game.

It’s hard to overcome four interceptions and it’s even harder when your defense seemingly has zero resiliency. The two times they came on after Brady interceptions they yielded touchdowns.

But most disappointing was when they took the field with 3:25 left in the game and a tie score. It was the final golden opportunity of the day. If they could get a stop it’s likely Brady could’ve gotten the team in position to win. However it was embarrassingly easy for the Bills to slice right though the Patriots defense like a light saber through warm butter.

It only took Buffalo 3 plays to get to 79 yards to the New England 1-yard line. 3 plays. 

Three games into the 2011 season and we’re still seeing a team with similar flaws to last year’s team. And today is what happens when they don’t win the turnover battle. So there’s no denying that the defense still has a long way to go. There were a few flashes here and there, specifically with the three second half punts that they forced. 

It’s a long season, and thankfully the Jets lost today as well, so the Patriots should be able to overcome this loss in the long run. However the problems that continue to appear on defense are certainly disheartening. Right now there is no reason to believe that this defense is capable of getting a stop at any point, much less in a pressure-packed playoff scenario.

There needs to be a lot of improvement if this team is even going to compete for the AFC East title much less the Super Bowl.