By now, the NFL should know that the New England Patriots treat the first month of the season like an extended training camp. Of course the Pats try to win their first four games but the winning sometimes seems secondary to the bigger goal of trying to build a champion at season’s end.

“They are definitely a better second-half team,” former NFL general manager and current NFL Network analyst Charley Casserly told me a few weeks ago. “It seems the players learn the system more then and Bill Belichick learns more about the players and then they get better and better as the games go on.”

This is why New England’s 2-2 start after Sunday’s 33-30 loss to the Carolina Panthers shouldn’t be seen as proof that the Patriots are falling apart. The 2011 lockout produced a collective bargaining agreement that cut offseason and training camp practice time. Ever since, Pats coach Belichick has tried to experiment in September and early October, testing players in certain situations and showing plays that will complicate the preparation of coaches who have to plan against them later in the year.

Often, Belichick’s early tinkering leaves the Patriots looking sluggish and leads to early- and mid-October storylines of the “What’s wrong with the Patriots?” variety. Usually, they turn out to be just fine, storming through November and December to division titles and deep postseason runs. Already this season Tom Brady has thrown for 1,399 yards and 10 touchdowns against zero interceptions. He is playing as well, at the age of 40, as he has in his career. Even with Julian Edelman out for the season with a torn ACL, he has found ways to find his other top targets, including tight end Rob Gronkowski and receiver Danny Amendola. The Pats offensive line continues to give him time to fire passes all over the field.

But New England’s defense is struggling. A lot. Brady might be great, but as his wife, Gisele Bundchen screamed after dropped passes cost the Pats Super Bowl XLVI: “My husband can’t fucking throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time!” In this case, Brady can’t throw the ball and stop opposing offenses.

Going into this season, the defense was expected to be a weakness but few would have predicted New England would give up more than 30 points a game. No matter how great Brady looks, no team can give away that many points each week and expect to go to the Super Bowl. In Sunday’s loss the Pats defenders missed tackles and blew coverages in allowing the Panthers to put up 444 yards. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton had 316 yards passing and four touchdowns (three passing and one running).

Thursday night football: the science behind the NFL's toughest turnaround Read more

Newton, of course, is less than two years removed from an MVP season; there is little shame in having him dominate a game. Still, New England are known for adapting week-to-week to the other team’s best player and the Patriots appear to be adapting to no one right now.

Maybe everything will turn out to be fine. Maybe this September glitch that has bled into October is nothing. Maybe January ends with the Patriots heading off to another Super Bowl in a blizzard of confetti.

Something doesn’t seem quite right with the Pats defense, however. Something that might not be fixed with a few magical film sessions and a snap of Belichick’s fingers. And that should be the worry today for the team that was supposed to go undefeated.

Fantasy player of the week

NFL Network (@nflnetwork) 1st rookie QB w 4+ pass TD &

1+ rush TD in Super Bowl era@deshaunwatson 🏈 = 📞 from @DeionSanders



📺 @NFLGameDay Prime // SUNDAYS 11:30pmET pic.twitter.com/hwsD83Ox70

Deshaun Watson. It seems hard to imagine there was a time, just weeks ago, when the Houston Texans thought quarterback Tom Savage gave them their best chance to win. That absurd thought lasted about two dismal quarters before top pick Deshaun Watson took over. All he has done is play like a first-round pick should play.

In Sunday’s 57-14 trampling of Tennessee, Watson completed 25-of-34 passes for 283 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for another score. His 125.0 passer rating might have been higher were it not for an interception. He is looking like anything but a rookie.

Stat of the week

7-7. Years ago the then-St Louis Rams had a great find in kicker Greg Zuerlein. He showed up in the spring of 2012, a sixth-round draft pick from Missouri Western and started nailing very long field goals – accurately. The Rams have wallowed at the bottom of the NFC West but Zuerlein has thrived. He even earned a nickname, Greg The Leg.

Now with the team in Los Angeles, Greg The Leg remains one of the league’s top kickers. On Sunday he helped the Rams pull out a huge 35-30 win at Dallas. He hit all seven of his field goal attempts including a career-best 49 yards on a line drive with room to spare.

Quote of the week

“When I was bringing him down, I just see my teeth in the air for like two seconds. I was like ‘Holy Crap.’” - Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Carl Lawson had a decent day against the Cleveland Browns in his team’s 31-7 victory. The only problem was he left without two of his teeth. As he told ESPN’s Katherine Terrell he was trying to tackle Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer when he noticed two of his teeth leaving his mouth. Unlike most of his peers, Lawson does not wear a mouthpiece, and apparently paid a heavy price for not doing so.

The game stopped as Lawson crawled around on the turf looking for his missing teeth, which were eventually collected. While the Bengals offense finally found some bite, Cleveland’s remained toothless generating just 215 yards.

Image of the week

Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) Marshawn Lynch arrives at game wearing "Everybody vs. Trump" shirt made by Oakland-based Dope Era ($45) pic.twitter.com/gn2zw3sTVJ

Here is Marshawn Lynch walking into Denver’s Sports Authority Field before Sunday’s game against the Broncos. His “Everybody vs Trump” shirt his own silent protest against a president who brought much of the league to their knees last weekend. Though the mass protests of last week were not there this time, several players did make their own statements, including Newton holding up a fist in the Patriots end zone after a touchdown.

But Lynch always has a profound way of expressing himself even if he rarely grants interviews. We could probably reserve this space for him every week and he will provide.

Elsewhere around the league

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Lions are putting together an impressive season. Photograph: Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

-- Very quietly, the Detroit Lions are 3-1 after grinding out a 14-7 victory at Minnesota. It was a dutiful win for Detroit who held onto the ball for almost a quarter longer than the Vikings and forced Minnesota into three turnovers.

--Like the Patriots, the Seattle Seahawks often start the season slowly and they were sluggish in the first half of their Sunday Night Football match-up with the Indianapolis Colts, as they trailed 15-10. But a big third quarter, in which they piled on 22 points, helped them to a 46-18 victory. Russell Wilson was picked off twice but also threw for two touchdowns and ran in another.

-- Don’t look now but the Jets are as good as the Patriots with matching 2-2 records after New York’s 23-20 overtime victory. The Jets got a combined 256 yards from Bilal Powell and Elijah McGuire. Bet you didn’t have those two on your fantasy team.

-- Another AFC East team that was supposed to struggle this season are the Bills. Instead they top their division with a 3-1 record and they’re not just beating up bad teams either. On Sunday they inflicted the Falcons’ first loss of the season and intercepted Matt Ryan twice.

-- The Los Angeles Chargers’ move to Los Angeles isn’t going great. There seemed to be more Eagles fans than Chargers supporters during their home game on Sunday, and they have now lost all four of their contests this season after Carson Wentz guided his team to a 26-24 victory. “It’s almost like the Chargers got 16 away games. It’s going to be tough sledding for those guys,” Eagles tackle Jason Peters told reporters after the game.

-- Pittsburgh receiver Antonio Brown hurled a water cooler in frustration after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger failed to see him wide-open for a touchdown. The Steelers didn’t need his score, however, as they defeated the struggling Ravens in Baltimore for the first time in five years.