Despite suffering a 37-20 loss at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, New England Patriots veteran quarterback Tom Brady remained magnanimous in defeat. After the loss, Brady congratulated Ravens young quarterback Lamar Jackson at midfield, telling him “great game, dude. You played great.” Jackson replied to Brady “appreciate that, the GOAT”. Jackson completely dominated the Patriots defense that had been formidable in their first eight games. Jackson, the 32nd overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, recorded 61 rushing yards and two touchdowns and completed 17 of 23 throws for 163 yards and a touchdown with no interception.

The 42-year-old Brady also did well, completing 30 of 46 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown with an interception, but his efforts weren’t enough as the Patriots suffered their first loss of the season in nine outings.

Brady, Belichick praise Ravens for outstanding game

During a press conference, Brady lauded the Ravens for playing an outstanding game. “They played a good game. They made a lot of plays offensively and defensively. We just didn't match them,” said Brady, adding the Patriots did not play well on three phases of the game. “Offensively, we didn't do a good enough job; too many missed opportunities,” he added. In Monday’s conference call, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick admitted that the Ravens’ loss has given the team some insights on where they could improve on in the following days.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of things we could do better based on last night’s game, so you learn something every week,” Belichick emphasized. The Patriots have a bye on Week 10 before the face the Philadelphia Eagles on Week 11. Belichick plans to use the bye week to allow his players to recuperate, especially those who played 100 percent of offensive snaps against the Ravens, and work on ways to correct their mistakes that led to their first loss of the season.“We all need to address those and we all need to improve on them,” Belichick explained.

Boomer Esiason says Patriots remain favorite in AFC

While he was surprised by the Patriots’ loss to the Ravens, CBS TV analyst Boomer Esiason’s position that New England remains the team to beat in the AFC still stands. “Absolutely. 100 percent. It’s a long season,” Esiason said in his interview on WEEI’s Greg Hill Show on Monday.

Esiason said the Patriots entered unchartered waters in Baltimore on Sunday and they were clearly beaten by Jackson's versatility, which Belichick earlier described as "a problem" for New England. However, Esiason said the Patriots would learn from the loss and emerge as a better team the rest of the way. In case the Patriots meet the Ravens in postseason, Esiason said the advantage belongs to Belichick and his wards as they already acquired the knowledge on how to deal with Jackson and Baltimore’s offense.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED