We are legally obliged to point out that you should never rule out New England. But, after a shock playoff loss, the Brady-Belichick axis could be coming apart



With the benefit of hindsight, the truly shocking thing about the end of the New England Patriots’ season was when it happened. Had the Patriots lost to the Kansas City Chiefs or Baltimore Ravens later in this NFL postseason, perhaps it wouldn’t have felt as cataclysmic. Great teams lose to great teams. But when the Patriots fell to the relatively unheralded Tennessee Titans on Saturday, scoring a measly 13 points in the contest, it felt like football had shifted. There’s a very real chance we just witnessed the end of the Patriots Dynasty.

Tom Brady says retirement 'pretty unlikely' despite Pats' shock loss to Titans Read more

It was somewhat surreal that the Patriots were even playing on Saturday, as accustomed as they are to a first-round bye. Indeed, if there was a true turning point in the Patriots’ season, a moment when it became clear that things weren’t going to script for New England, it was when the lowly Miami Dolphins defeated them, at home, 27-24. That Week 17 loss knocked the Pats out of the second seed and forced them to play in the opening round of the NFL postseason for the first time since 2009.

Still, heading into Saturday, the Patriots had gone 104 games between consecutive home losses. Fans had every reason to expect that the Titans wouldn’t threaten that record. Instead, the streak ended the second a desperate Tom Brady threw a game-sealing pick-six to the Titans’ Logan Ryan. The Patriots defense had done its best by limiting Tennessee quarterback Ryan Tannehill to a mere 72 yards, but the offense practically vanished in the second half. Next Saturday, it will be the Titans facing the Ravens while the Patriots’ look ahead to an uncertain future.

And yes, for perhaps the first time since head coach Bill Belichick pinned his fortunes to Brady, the future does feel like a huge question mark. To start things off, there’s a very real chance that Brady could leave. His contract with the Patriots is coming to an end and early reports suggest that the 42-year-old is less open to taking a discount to remain with the team, as he has done in the past. Combined with whispers of possible tensions between Brady and Belichick, it’s entirely possible that the Patriots will be starting next year with somebody else in the sport’s most important position.

In the press conference immediately following Saturday’s loss, Brady said he was not considering retirement, but he also refused to commit to anything so soon after his season came to an unexpectedly early conclusion. “I love the Patriots,” Brady said. “It’s the greatest organization. Playing for Mr Kraft all these years and for Coach Belichick, there is nobody who has had a better career than me just being with them. I’m very blessed and I don’t know what the future looks like, and I’m not going to predict it.”

Even if Brady does return to the Patriots, the team’s championship window may already be firmly shut. After all, Brady is coming off a year where – maybe for the first time ever – he has looked old. He had his lowest touchdown total since 2003 and the third-worst completion total of his career. Brady wasn’t helped by the fact that, for once, the Patriots’ moves to bring him talented receivers on the cheap didn’t pan out (it turns out that Antonio Brown and Josh Gordon weren’t destined to replace Rob Gronkowski).

As a result, the Patriots were never quite as good as they appeared to be when they started out the season 8-0. For much of the season, the Patriots were able to lean on a talented defense, and exploit a relatively light schedule. Later losses to the Chiefs, Ravens and the Houston Texans revealed that they didn’t quite stack up against well-constructed teams built around talented young quarterbacks. The Buffalo Bills’ unexpected run to the playoffs suggested that the AFC East may soon evolve into something other than the cakewalk it has been in recent years.

History, of course, has taught us not to completely count out the Pats, the “Death and Taxes” of the NFL. It’s not impossible that Brady returns to the Patriots in the offseason and has a bounce-back year. Maybe Belichick figures out a way to surround him with the right offensive weapons without weakening what should remain one of the league’s best defenses. It’s not out of the question for the Patriots to compete for at least one more Super Bowl. However, at the very least, the end has never looked closer.

Quote of the week

“There must be a winner to the game” – the head referee going over the playoff overtime rules after the Buffalo Bills and the Houston Texans ended tied 19-19 at the end of regulation.

The official was stating the obvious: there’s no way for a playoff game to end in a tie. But after each team’s first overtime drive ended in a punt, it looked like we would be watching for a while. And then…



Video of the week

Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) WATSON IS A MAGICIAN.@deshaunwatson | #BUFvsHOU pic.twitter.com/9p8Zdl8F0Z

Given how overtime had played out to that point, maybe it was inevitable that the Texans’ crucial play emerged out of what looked like a complete disaster. On second and six, Houston quarterback DeShaun Watson somehow escaped a host of Bills defenders to find running back Taiwan Jones. Jones, who had a single reception on the year, picked up 34 yards and set up Houston’s game-winning field goal. The Texans beat the Bills 22-19 and now face the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills, meanwhile, will have an entire offseason to try to figure out how they were unable to bring down Watson on that play.

Stat of the week

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Drew Brees was left to face another playoff disappointment. Photograph: John David Mercer/USA Today Sports

191. That’s the number of passes thrown by New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees without an interception before the one he threw to the Minnesota Vikings’ Anthony Harris on Sunday. It was a sign that things were not going to go as planned for New Orlean: Brees would later lose a fumble to end a promising drive in the fourth quarter. The Saints had led the NFL with the fewest turnovers allowed during the regular season but were burnt twice in crucial situations on Sunday. The Vikings ended up beating the Saints on Kirk Cousins’s touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph in overtime. Brees never even got a chance to touch the ball. The Vikings, having pulled off one upset, will have to attempt another one as they will face the well-rested San Francisco 49ers on Saturday.

MVP of the week

Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks. Wilson was at his dual-threat best in the Seahawks’ 17-9 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, picking up 325 yards through the air and 45 yards on the ground. On top of that, Wilson threw for one of Seattle’s two touchdowns, while the other was thanks to his old friend Marshawn Lynch. While the Seahawks were able to lean on their franchise quarterback, the Eagles were forced to play backup Josh McCown after Carson Wentz left the game after a hit from Jadeveon Clowney, continuing Wentz’s string of bad injury luck. The Seahawks now face the Green Bay Packers.

Elsewhere around the league

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Russell Wilson was brilliant on Sunday, but is he really better than Lamar Jackson? Photograph: James Lang/USA Today Sports

-- It’s looking like there might be further bad news coming for the New England Patriots. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the league is planning to discipline the organization after they were caught filming the Cincinnati Bengals’ sidelines during the regular season. It’s not yet known what kind of punishment the Patriots will be facing but it could involve fines, the loss of draft picks or perhaps even suspensions. The Patriots, of course, were previously disciplined for videotaping the New York Jets’ defensive signals back in the 2007 SpyGate scandal.

-- The Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson will almost certainly be named the league MVP when the end-of-season awards are announced. He may not, however, be the unanimous selection. When the Associated Press named their All-Pro team, Jackson received 47 of the 50 votes at quarterback, with Wilson getting the other three votes. As ProFootballTalk points out, one of the voters who selected Wilson over Jackson was Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian, one of those experts who believed that Jackson was better suited to be a wide receiver in the pros rather than remain at quarterback.

-- The Dallas Cowboys have finally let go of head coach Jason Garrett. It was a move that was all but inevitable after the Cowboys failed to qualify for the postseason. Even before they made it official, reports had the Cowboys meeting with Mike McCarthy, previously with the Green Bay Packers, and Marvin Lewis, who was last with the Cincinnati Bengals.

