The New England Patriots have won just two of their last four games following an 8-0 start. Their 28-22 loss to the Houston Texans last Sunday dropped them to No. 2 in the AFC, behind the Baltimore Ravens. While they are remained tied for the AFC lead with the Ravens, Baltimore owned the tiebreak due to their 37-20 win over the Patriots in Week 9.
Many pundits are claiming that the Patriots are vulnerable and this could be the end of their NFL dominance. However, author and multi-awarded sports journalist Bill Pennington of the New York Times warned that Patriots critics should not bet on it.
In his column, Pennington said that the Patriots’ reign may come one day, but not this season. “There’s still two months of high-stakes games to go. Don’t be surprised when the Patriots are at least in the thick of it,” said Pennington.
Talks about Patriots’ decaying dynasty pointless
The sports journalist said the talk about Patriots’ demise first came in 2008 when they missed the playoffs for the first time in six years after winning three Super Bowls. Since then, Pennington said the Patriots have doubled their Super Bowl crowns to six, with two coming in the last three seasons. “So perhaps we need to backpedal on the decaying dynasty talk,” said Pennington. In addition, Pennington pointed out that since 2010, the Patriots are 36-9 in December and January regular-season games and 20-3 at home.
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Since 2015, the Patriots have not lost a December game at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots need a crucial win against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at home to keep their hunt for the No 1 seed alive. The Patriots are a three-point favorite over the Chiefs in a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship clash. The Patriots emerged victorious, 37-31, in overtime to advance to their third straight Super Bowl appearance where they beat the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3.
Earlier, Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre said it’s early to count the Patriots out amid their offensive struggles this season. Former NFL running back Brian Westbrook, for his part, expects veteran quarterback Tom Brady to outplay young Chiefs signal-caller Patrick Mahomes with the help of the Patriots’ vaunted defense.
Brady good to go vs Chiefs
As confirmation of his earlier pronouncement, Brady is good to go when the Patriots take on the Chiefs on Sunday. On Friday, Brady was removed from the final injury report after he declared as limited in practice on Thursday due to toe and right elbow issues. In an earlier interview with Jim Gray on Westwood One Radio, Brady shrugged off his reported injuries, saying the Patriots were only diligent enough to list everything on the injury report.
The Patriots will take on the Chiefs without center Ted Karras (sprained MCL) and defensive lineman Byron Cowart (head). Listed as questionable were linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley (knee), offensive tackle Marcus Cannon (illness), safety Patrick Chung (heel), wide receivers Julian Edelman (shoulder) and Mohamed Sanu (ankle) and cornerback Jason McCourty (groin). The Chiefs, for their part, will play minus running back Damien Williams and cornerbacks Morris Claiborne and Rashad Felton.
