Sunday is the most important regular-season game the New England Patriots have had in a long time. It’s a must-win game. And it’s only Week 4.
The 3-0 Miami Dolphins come to Gillette Stadium as one of only three undefeated teams in the league. The other two are the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams.
The Patriots, meanwhile, are 1-2 and have lost their last two games, in Jacksonville in Week 2 and in Detroit in Week 3.
We all knew the schedule was going to be tough, especially right out of the gate. But a 1-2 start? I didn’t see that coming. Maybe 2-1, but not 1-2.
After looking horrible against the Jaguars two weeks ago, I fully expected the Patriots to have one of their typical bounce-back games against the Lions on Sunday Night Football last week. Instead, things looked even worse.
Now, here we are, about to watch Tom Brady do battle against a divisional rival that’s in first place in the AFC East. Even if the Dolphins weren’t in first, I still wouldn’t feel great about this game. I don’t care where it’s played.
I just never feel comfortable about a game against Miami. Factor in the way the Patriots have looked so far this season, and it only adds to the anxiety that I currently have with this Patriots team.
I’m not going all Trent Dilfer on you. I believe the Pats can still be a good football team and have success this year. But that needs to start Sunday at 1 p.m. in Foxboro with a win over the Dolphins.
There’s no other way. You can’t begin the season 1-3. Because after Miami, the schedule doesn’t get any easier against teams like Kansas City, Green Bay, Minnesota, and Pittsburgh, just to name a few.
There’s no rest for the weary, so the time is now for New England to get its act together. And we can complain about the personnel all we want, but the biggest thing that needs to change is the game plan.
If you ask me, the Patriots’ coaching and play calling has been horrible. Again, people will point to the lack of talent on both sides of the ball. But come on. They still have Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski on offense. They still have Stephon Gilmore, Devin McCourty, and Dont’a Hightower on defense. And what, we’re just going to act like the Patriots don’t rely on a “next man up” approach all of a sudden?
Stop running the ball on 3rd-and-1. Figure out a defensive coverage that wouldn’t allow me to get open on an underneath crossing route. Coach it up like everyone’s used to seeing.
I don’t care if they have to force the ball to Gronkowski in quadruple coverage 25 times on Sunday, the Patriots need to stay aggressive with their offensive play-calling against a Miami pass defense that allows the third-most pass yards per game at 288. They also need to draw up some disguised blitzes on defense, and turn this thing around, now.
The Patriots have had early-season struggles before. You don’t need me to give you a history lesson on that. But I’d be lying if I told you that this one doesn’t feel a little different. Maybe I’ve been brainwashed by all the offseason rumors and reports of the organization’s internal demise. Or maybe it just actually does look different.
Whatever the case may be, it has to change on Sunday against the
Dolphins. Because the last time the Pats lost three straight was in 2002, when they finished 9-7 and missed out on the playoffs a year after winning their first Super Bowl.
I never say this in September, but I’ll say it now. This is a must-win game for the New England Patriots, and the most important regular-season game the organization has had in a long time.
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Seriously it is must win for Patriots versus Dolphins
