The Patriots Finally Beat A Legitimate Team In 2021, Knocking Off The Chargers 27-24 In LA

 

    I'm sorry, but beating the tanking Texans (1-7) or mostly hapless Jets (2-5) means nothing to me in 2021, hence why I didn't bother to write about last week's useless 54-13 pasting of those Jets. That is also why it was very refreshing to see the Patriots (4-4 overall, 3-0 road) go to Los Angeles this afternoon and beat the Chargers (4-3 overall, 2-2 home) 27-24 at SoFi Stadium. LA is not going to win the Super Bowl this season (and frankly neither are the Patriots) but they look and feel like a playoff team which certainly can't be said for Houston or New York. This is the first time in quite a strange season that the Pats have won consecutive games. 

    New England head coach Bill Belichick improved to 4-0 against rookie head coaches this season (coincidence?) while safety Adrian Phillips-a former Charger-was the star of the game with a pair of interceptions including the first pick-six of his NFL career. The victory was not a fluke for the visitors who had plenty of Masshole transplants in attendance cheering them on in their finest Halloween costumes. In fact, that close final score is quite misleading since something named Joshua Palmer caught a garbage time touchdown for the Chargers with 40 seconds left in regulation. Another former Charger great tight end Hunter Henry snared the ensuing onside kick to seal the win and guarantee a fun plane ride home for the Patriots.

    Somewhat surprisingly given the result, this contest did not feature a stellar performance by Pats rookie quarterback Mac Jones who barely completed over half of his passes (18-of-35 for 218 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs) but unlike LA's second-year stud Justin Herbert (18-of-35 for 223 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs), he had zero turnovers. From the look of their opening drive, it appeared that the Chargers were going to drop 40+ points on New England as they easily went down the field (10 plays, 75 yards, 4:28) capped off by a rugby scrum style five-yard touchdown run by their dynamic running back Austin Ekeler (64 yards rushing, 60 yards receiving). LA's new kicker Dustin Hopkins tacked on the PAT for an early 7-0 lead. The Patriots responded though with an eerily similar drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:28 but they finished it with a one-yard run by running back Damien Harris (23 carries, 80 yards). Nick Folk added the point after to tie it at seven. 

    Longtime Chargers receiver Keenan Allen (6 catches, 77 yards) caught a five-yard touchdown from Herbert early in the second quarter that coupled with another kick by Hopkins made it 14-7 in favor of the home team. The red zone is still a major issue for Jones and the Pats who had to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Folk and their dependable kicker hit a 48-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the first half to cut LA's advantage to just one point (14-13). The defenses started to take over in the third quarter as Folk hit a 48-yard field goal for New England's first lead at 16-14 but Hopkins answered with a 48-yard kick of his own to help Los Angeles regain the lead. 

    Phillips' earlier interception was from a tipped ball but the fourth quarter pick-six that went for 26 yards was a complete gift from Herbert. The pass was intended for tight end Jared Cook who had not even turned around when the ball went whistling by him and Phillips was alert enough to dive for it then get up and run it to the end zone when he was never touched while on the ground. Belichick elected to go for two and Jones found wide receiver Jakobi Meyers for the two-point conversion. New England showed great poise on the game-clinching drive as they kept picking up first downs but also smartly stayed inbounds to keep the clock running. Folk's 30-yard field goal with 2:19 left gave them a 10-point lead (27-17). 

    New England's defense had three sacks, led of course by their excellent linebacker Matthew Judon (4 tackles, 1 assist, 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for loss). Defensive lineman Lawrence Guy had a sack as well while rookie defensive lineman Christian Barmore was credited with half a sack of Herbert. The Dolphins (1-7) have lost seven games in a row since beating the Pats in the season opener so the AFC East race is already down to only the Bills (5-2) and New England. Buffalo is still a heavy favorite to win the division and I'd be really surprised to see the Patriots upset them in either meeting but at least there is some hope that they could qualify for the playoffs in the not that great AFC. The Pats will look to keep their perfect road record intact next Sunday afternoon (1, CBS) as they visit Stephon Gilmore (who had an interception today in his Panthers debut!) and Carolina (4-4) at Bank Of America Stadium. Former Jets great Sam Darnold went into concussion protocol and had to leave today's 19-13 win over the Falcons (3-4) so his status will be something to keep an eye on this week. FYI his backup is something named PJ Walker who no joke is a proud XFL alum.

Bill Belichick Continues To Spend Like A Madman In Free Agency, Hunter Henry Come On Down!

 

    Just when you started to give up hope that Patriots head coach/GM Bill Belichick would ever change in any way, he starts going wild the first few days of free agency in the NFL. Of course, Cam Newton is still his quarterback which is a fatal flaw but at least he's making the team much better around him as he signed another top tight end-Hunter Henry-to a three-year deal worth $37.5 million with $25 million guaranteed. In the span of a few days, New England went from having the worst tight ends in the entire league (sorry Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene but the truth hurts) to one of the best with the addition of Jonnu Smith on Monday and Henry on Tuesday. 

    As we found out last season when the Patriots were playing the Chargers, Belichick had reportedly been following Henry's career since he was in high school which isn't weird at all. A native of Arkansas, Henry was a second-round draft pick (35th overall) in 2016 for the Chargers out of the University of Arkansas. He's been in the NFL for five seasons now (he missed all of 2018 with a torn ACL) and two things stand out: he's never played in all 16 games of a regular season but on the bright side, his catches have gone up each year that he's been on the field.

    In 2020 with LA's sensational rookie quarterback Justin Herbert, Henry had 60 catches on a career-high 93 targets for 613 yards and four touchdowns. His career-high in yards is 652 in 2019 and his most touchdowns (8) came in his rookie campaign. At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, he gives the Patriots a great red zone target plus a key weapon on third down and in short yardage situations for Newton or whoever else is their quarterback in 2021 and beyond. I haven't seen every Chargers game beyond highlights on NFL Red Zone and playing fantasy football helps fill in some of the picture but I'm pretty sure that he's not the most physical tight end when it comes to blocking, meaning he's more Travis Kelce than Rob Gronkowski in that regard but that's fine. 

    New England desperately needed an infusion of talent all over its thin roster and while Henry's injury history is a little troubling, the fact that they already have Smith is reassuring so at least all the pressure isn't on Hunter. Newton struggled so much passing the football last season but having two upper-level NFL quality tight ends should help him immensely rather than a pair of third-round rookies that can't seem to do anything right. Henry has only played in one career NFL playoff game so he'll no doubt be extra motivated to help the Pats return to the postseason and their former winning ways albeit without Tom Brady aka the greatest quarterback of all-time.

The Patriots (6-6) Are Finally Back To The .500 Mark After Destroying The Hapless Chargers 45-0

 

    2020 has brought all of us many unexpected (and mostly terrible things) but I can confidently say that I never saw a 45-0 Patriots victory transpiring in this worst year in modern human history. Enter New England (6-6 overall, 2-4 on the road) who are playing their best football of the season as they won for the fourth time in the last five games by going into SoFi Stadium and completely embarrassing the Chargers (3-9 overall, 2-4 at home). Just how bad was it for the home team? Well it goes down as the worst (by point-margin) defeat in franchise history. Head coach Anthony Lynn was already on the hot seat before this steaming dump of a performance and this turned out to be so ugly, that would anybody be the least bit surprised to hear that he's been fired tomorrow or later on this week? 

    It figured to at least be a relatively close game that LA would inevitably cough up at the end (their trademark if you will under Lynn is losing one-score games) but rookie quarterback sensation Justin Herbert (26-of-53 for 209 yards, 2 INTs) had by far his worst game as a pro that should cool down his Rookie of the Year campaign just a bit. On a related note, I have no idea why he played the entire contest when he represents both the present and the future of that perennial losing team. Patriots rookie wide receiver/human emoji Gunner Olszewski had never scored an NFL touchdown so obviously he found the end zone not once but twice on the day thanks to a 70-yard punt return in the second quarter and a 38-yard catch-and-run from Jarrett Stidham (!!!) deep into garbage time in the fourth quarter. 

    Patriots quarterback Cam Newton (12-of-19 for 69 yards, TD; 48 yards rushing, 2 TDs) did not have to do all that much besides a pair of short touchdown runs (1-yard and 2-yards) and a five-yard touchdown pass to everyone's favorite bust wide receiver N'Keal Harry in the third quarter. Down 21-0 on the last play of the first half, Lynn chose to go for a 58-yard field goal attempt that immediately backfired in the worst possible way as something called Cody Davis on the Pats blocked it and safety Devin McCourty returned it 44 yards for a touchdown. Haha unbelievable, this felt like the good old days of New England sucking the life out of an overmatched opponent in hilarious fashion.

    Olszewski ironically had a punt return for a touchdown called back last week vs. Arizona so it was nice to see him get rewarded right away after that tough break. Patriots defensive end Chase Winovich made a beautiful diving interception (his 1st in the NFL) while cornerback J.C. Jackson also picked off an errant throw by Herbert for his NFL-best seventh pick of the season. Normally, I could care less about the Pro Bowl (the stupidest All-Star game in pro sports) but with that said, Jackson has to be a Pro Bowler this season, who could have believed he would do this? The Patriots are staying in California since they have a very quick turnaround as they visit the Rams (8-4 overall, 4-1 at home) on Thursday night (8:20, Fox). LA's real team beat Arizona (6-6) 38-28 this afternoon and Seattle (8-4) shockingly lost to the Giants (5-7) so the Rams are now in first-place in the NFC West-the best division in the NFL.

    Thursday Night Football is usually trash but at least this matchup is extra intriguing because these teams last met in the Super Bowl two years ago (won 13-3 by Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Pats). Rams head coach Sean McVay and his mercurial quarterback Jared Goff are having a good season after they were both a mess last year (can you say Super Bowl hangover?). New England's defense has really stepped up lately so it will be interesting to see if McVay can find a way to solve whatever Belichick decides to throw at them this time. They still probably have to win out and finish 10-6 to have a realistic shot at the playoffs since the teams ahead of them in the AFC don't seem to be losing much but regardless of that, the Patriots deserve serious credit for giving us a season after all hope looked lost multiple times following brutal losses to Denver, San Francisco and Houston.

The Unthinkable Has Finally Happened: Tom Brady Will No Longer Play for the New England Patriots

For the past few months at least (more likely years), the signs were there that the Patriots and Tom Brady were headed for a final farewell. Still, up until the last second, it was hard for Pats fans like myself to fathom that the greatest quarterback in NFL history would ever play for another team. Enter this morning's social media post by TB12, somehow a fitting way to end this all in 2020 while we are all stuck inside on St. Patrick's Day due to the Coronavirus. In two separate posts, Brady thanked the Patriots organization, teammates and support staff followed by a love letter to the New England area and Pats fans around the globe. He is not retiring and we don't know where he will play starting this summer (assuming that we all make it until then) but this much is certain: he is finished here.

To put this in perspective, Drew Bledsoe got hurt in the fall of 2001 (when I was a senior in high school) and Brady took over from there. He appeared in nine Super Bowls-winning an unforgettable six of them including four MVP awards-and cemented his legacy as one of the best professional athletes ever. He went from an anonymous sixth-round pick in 2000 (199th overall) from the University of Michigan to the gold standard for winning and excellence. I am 36 years old but Tom is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league. The Pats went 12-4 last season but choked in the first round of the playoffs against Tennessee and much of that failure could be blamed on the lack of weapons that head coach/GM Bill Belichick failed to put around Brady. Yes, TB12 will be 43 years old in August and Father Time will forever remain undefeated but he has done as great a job as anyone we've ever seen to at least slow down that clock.

As the undisputed top head coach in NFL history, Belichick has managed to skirt much criticism over the years for his lack of social skills and general mediocrity as a general manager. He doesn't draft particularly well, his record in free agency is spotty at best and some positions have been nothing but a black hole (namely wide receivers) for the Pats when it comes to developing his own players. Besides the fact that fans of every other NFL team hate him because of how much he wins but that was always a moot point because those same haters would also give up their first born child to have Belichick in charge of their club.

I get that in many ways the Patriots dynasty was rough on the overall quality of the NFL these past two decades and now we'll finally get to (somewhat) settle that age-old tired journalism question: who is more important, Brady or Belichick? Putting aside the fact that it will be utterly bizarre to see Brady wearing any other uniform except the Patriots but now it seems to be down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Los Angeles Chargers for his services in 2020 and beyond. This is yet another reminder (not that we need it at the moment) that nothing in this world lasts forever, in sports or in life. You can be a once-in-a-lifetime player but even that guy hits an invisible term limit and suddenly it's all over. Honestly, I could care less if the team made him a low-ball offer or if he demanded more money (ie. respect) and years. Like any breakup, there will always be a he-said she-said element to it all and that really doesn't mean anything to me.

This is not to say that the Patriots will tank this season which would be perfect since next year they could draft Clemson's outstanding quarterback Trevor Lawrence who will be a junior this fall and is a lock to be the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Nope, that simply won't be possible no matter how you slice it since Belichick is too good of a coach and they still employ plenty of quality players that make 2-14 or 3-13 virtually impossible. In a weird way, it'll be interesting to see how the Pats do with a new starting quarterback (not counting the brief tenures of placeholders Matt Cassel, Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett when Brady was hurt or suspended). The Dolphins and Bills have both already improved in free agency but the Jets will always be the Jets, however the AFC East will no longer be the lock that it was forever under Brady.

The constant drama and behind the scenes sniping back and forth through the media between Belichick and Brady definitely got old the last few years. Belichick obviously will never change or become a fully formed human being anytime soon but perhaps a new quarterback will allow him to ease up just a smidge on his legendary cold disposition. So who will the starting quarterback be for the Pats in their Week 1 game in September? Jarrett Stidham (not ready) or a veteran (please not Andy Dalton) that New England has to trade for or sign in free agency? The new reality is that Brady will no longer be a Patriot which is sobering enough. We have no idea where he'll end up for the last few seasons of his incredible career and likewise, nobody knows how the Patriots will actually proceed moving forward.

Social distancing is the perfect excuse to throw on your Brady Patriots jersey, pop in your favorite Pats Super Bowl DVD and remember all the good times that he gave to us. In the back of our minds, we all knew that this day was coming sometime soon. No matter what else happens with New England, there is less than zero of a chance that they have an unprecedented run of success like the one that we just witnessed. The Patriots have been a cheat code and now we will quickly be reminded of how hard it really is to win in the NFL. Brady and Belichick made it look easy and now let's see how they each do out on their own (with a new head coach and a new QB respectively that will fall well short of their previous partner). It was the ultimate power marriage and now that it's officially done, all we can do is be thankful that it happened in the first place.

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