PatsPropaganda

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Pats Posits

Pats Posits: New Chargers Chapter

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In recent years, the Pats’ playoff games, especially in the early rounds lacked a certain excitement that was present in the early years of the dynasty. Epic matchups in 2001 (Raiders/Tuck Rule), 2003 (Titans) and 2004 (Colts) gave way to snoozers against the Jaguars, Tebow Broncos and the Texans.

When was the last divisional round that really made you sweat? Surely not Marcus Mariota and the Titans last year. No, you’d have to go back to 2014 against the Ravens, a team that was just eliminated by the now Los Angeles Chargers that the Pats will face this Sunday. And really, that’s been the most anticipated matchup since 2004.

At this point in the run, it’s far more entertaining to face teams that the Pats have history with. Teams that we can even talk ourselves into them losing to, and that’s what they’ll get with the Chargers. I’m excited to see one of the old guard coming to town.

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Pats Posits: Here We Go Again

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The Patriots finished off their 2018 with perhaps their most complete game of the season. Most importantly, the Pats survived the 2018 campaign with the key pieces intact.

Against the Jets, the offense spread the ball around and had success both on the ground and through the air. Despite reports of his decline, Tom Brady looked every bit like his same old self.

The defense once again put together a strong home performance. The continued playmaking of Trey Flowers and Kyle Van Noy, along with shutdown corner Stephon Gilmore, have rounded this into one of the more underrated of Belichick’s defenses.

They’ve earned the right to get a bye and a home game. After that, we’ll just have to see. A lot can happen over the next two weekends. Maybe they will have to prove themselves on the road, or maybe not.

Let’s dive in with a bunch of travel-delayed Posits!

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Pats Posits: Bye, Bye, Bye!

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The Patriots ran their way to a victory over the Bills that delivered New England’s 10th-straight divisional title and put them back in the driver’s seat for a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Sony Michel racked up 116 yards on 18 carries, while the rest of the backfield, including Cordarrelle Patterson gave the team 273 yards rushing, their most since 2008.

If you wanted a perfectly executed PatsPropaganda Gameplan, you need to look no further. My final score prediction (24-13) was one point off while the running the ball and stopping the run were the key features to this week for the team. I loved the approach and the execution, but there are still plenty of elements giving me pause before firing up the Super Bowl hype train.

With a Chiefs loss the Pats now have an outside shot at the top seed, but what matters most, after Houston’s loss to the Eagles is that the Pats control their own fate for the second seed. All they have to do is beat the Jets. And given how Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski look, never before has a Pats team needed that extra week off more.

Let’s jump in and unpack everything from the second-to-last regular season game of the season.

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Pats Posits: The Long Hard Road

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The Patriots season climax came to a disappointing finish yesterday, as Tom Brady’s final drive ended up going backwards just as they were knocking on the door for what I just assumed would be a game-tying touchdown and extra point.

The loss was the second in a row for the Pats, capping off their season road record at 3-5, their first road losing record season since the dreaded 2009 season. This was also the second time this season that they dropped back to back road games, the first time coming in September.

Now the Pats are staring down the barrel of playing on wild card weekend, something that hasn’t happened since that same 2009 season.

There’s so much to unpack from this game. The only way to do it is to just start firing off some Posits.

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Pats Posits: Latereally!?

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Imagine yourself before the final mind-blowing play of the Patriots loss to the Dolphins. The Pats were poised to take a five-point victory and with Kansas City in a tight one with Baltimore, potentially looking at ending the day with the top seed in the AFC.

It wasn’t going to be a perfect victory. The offense, despite resurrecting Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, still had its trouble finishing. And the defense once again had turned into Mr. Hyde for large stretches of the game. Gostkowski misses cost them four points.

Still, until that point the Pats had overcome their continued inconsistencies, which were as drastic within this game as they’ve been between home and away in 2018. The defense got the stops needed and the offense got the points needed. All they needed was to get one last tackle.

Then suddenly, in one play, everything changed.

Where to begin? It’s the kind of loss only the Posits can help me get over.

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Pats Posits: All Aboard the Latest and Greatest Pats Hype Train!

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Here we are once again in early December and the Patriots look like they’re firing on all cylinders.

The Pats played an excellent game of team defense and moved the ball seemingly at will for most of the game, and with the Steelers losing, they now have an inside track on the 2nd seed at least. Homefield is everything at this point. Never has there been a more home manic-road depressive Patriots team than 2018’s.

With four games to go and trips to Miami and Pittsburgh next up, the Patriots will get what they deserve in the playoffs. If they overcome their road woes in two tough places to play then hold serve at home against the Bills and Jets, they’ll prove legitimate Super Bowl contenders and might not have to travel from Foxboro.

Kansas City faces a tough schedule — Ravens, Chargers, at Seahawks and Raiders. Whoever slips will have to hit the road. The race to the finish line will be close.

For now, we enjoy a beautiful victory over the Vikings.

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Pats Posits: Bye Week Not a Magic Elixir, But Pats Still in Playoff Bye Hunt

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On one hand, I feel like this weekend’s win over the Jets just reinforced what I’m already sure about with the 2018 Patriots, that with Sony Michel going they’re a very good offense. Without him, they’re up and down, and the struggles on third down are very real. Defensively, they’re up and down as well, but technically sound enough to take down an offense like the one the Jets rolled out there. Can they do it against a great offense on the road? Sunday did nothing to alleviate the concerns there, because it was Josh McCown and not some dual-threat quarterback they can expect to see in the playoffs.

But on the other hand, how much of this game was a traditional Jets struggle? How much were the penalties the Pats’ sloppiness compared to the flag-happy refs that call more penalties than anyone? How much was bye week rust? We can sweep this one under the rug, but there will be nowhere to hide on the road in Miami and Pittsburgh.

This sure didn’t feel like the reset button win we hoped would come post-bye, but it was still a solid victory. It might not have allayed my fears about what this editions weaknesses are, but it showed that even if they’re not perfect, the Patriots are still a very solid football team that will give any team problems.

More on it all in Posits.

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