National Football League

Patriots lose second straight, raising concerns about contender status

Updated Dec. 27, 2021 4:33 p.m. ET

The New England Patriots' once-staunch stronghold on the AFC is imploding right before the team's eyes.

The platoon, led by valiant general Bill Belichick and top lieutenant Mac Jones, are now victims of two straight defeats after succumbing to Indianapolis and Buffalo in consecutive weeks.

It's a complete turnaround for a squad that collected seven straight wins from late October into early December, including a historic victory against Buffalo three weeks earlier in which Jones threw just three passes.

That aforementioned loss was especially disconcerting for a Bills defense that was wholly aware of what was coming in that stormy home affair yet could do little to stop it. The Pats trampled Buffalo in the run game, recording just the second game since 2000 in which a team rushed for more than 200 yards and passed for fewer than 20. It was the lowest pass total for a team since 1974.

And it left a sour taste in Buffalo's mouth that wouldn't soon be forgotten.

That was ever-apparent in the performance of Buffalo's defense Sunday.

Leslie Frazier's crew was stellar against the pass, holding Jones to 145 yards through the air on a 14-for-32 completion clip and forcing two costly interceptions.

Meanwhile, Josh Allen torched the Pats' star-studded defense for 314 passing yards — 125 of which went to Isaiah McKenzie — and three TDs. Buffalo added 114 yards on the ground.

The Bills' 33 points were the second-most the Pats had relinquished all season and marked the second time the defense allowed more than 400 yards (it allowed 567 in a 35-29 OT loss to Dallas). It was also the first time in the Belichick era that the Patriots have not forced their opponent to punt.

The team's two-week slide is cause for concern in the minds of many in the football world.

"The Patriots have one way to win," Nick Wright said on "First Things First." "Get out to a lead, run the ball, let Belichick work his voodoo on the other coaches, and coast in. But at the first sign of adversity, Mac Jones is like ‘ooh boy, they didn’t tell me it was going to be like this at the trademark office.' The Patriots are going to be on the road the whole time if they get in [to the postseason.] I saw a team that was coaching around its quarterback."

Jones' numbers support Wright's statements.

He's thrown four INTs in his last two games (two each), after giving up just two during the team's seven-game win streak. Meanwhile, the team's scoring output has dropped substantially amidst his struggles. After putting up 32.1 points per game through the streak, New England has averaged 19 points per game during its slide, dropping from the second-best scoring team in the NFL all the way to 17th.

The team's defense has experienced a reduction in production as well.

New England led the NFL in both forced turnovers (18) and interceptions (13) during its string of victories. The Patriots' defense was also first in points allowed (10.4) and tied for ninth in sacks (19). Through the last two weeks, though, they rank 28th in PPG allowed (30), T-22nd in yards allowed (351.5) and T-31st in sacks (one).

And for Chris Broussard, Sunday's performance was a clear revelation of this team's postseason instability. Nonetheless, they're not to be overlooked in his summation.

"They're a good team, not a great team," Broussard stated.

"They're a playoff team and I stand by that. I believe they can be a spoiler when they get there, this is just who they are. You cannot sit here a tell me that they can't upset someone other than the Chiefs. Half of the AFC contenders are up and down. The Chargers — what in the world was that yesterday? Mac Jones did not prove yesterday that he's a disaster. He's not ready, but that doesn't make him a scrub. He does have to go back to the drawing board, but I still believe he's a game manager who is capable of being a very good quarterback in this league who you can win with."

Though the loss didn't subtract from New England's ability to win a playoff game, it did remove them from Kevin Wildes' "Super Bowl contenders" list.

"Mac Jones can't go toe-to-toe with Josh Allen," Wildes sighed.

"This defense can't carry this team. We've given up 60 points in the last two weeks. For the record, the worst team in the league, the Jets, give up 29.9 on average, so the last two weeks, we've been worse than the Jets. They don't play mistake-free, Patriots football. Lots of horrible, untimely penalties, dropped balls, and a dropped interception. I'm downgrading the Patriots from ‘great team that can win the Super Bowl', to the team ‘no one wants to play.’"

This is not the same Pats regime that collected seven straight victories this season.

The Patriots remain a playoff-caliber team, but improvement will be necessary if this team wants to make some serious noise in the postseason.