The Patriots Loss Was Terrible (But It Actually Could Have Been Worse)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The defense was bad, the offense was worse, and the New England Patriots were caught with their pants down in front of a capacity crowd at Arrowhead Stadium and a national television audience on Monday Night Football.
If you can believe it, the Patriots' 41-14 loss could have been much worse than it was.
The Patriots gave up 303 yards of offense in the first half, while the offense shot itself in the foot time after time to the tune of only 96 yards of offense. There was a brief flicker of hope from the Patriots in the second half, with a 43-yard catch-and-run touchdown by wide receiver Brandon LaFell, but with no defensive help afterward, the Patriots went right back to where they began.
There is still hope for the Patriots to put things together, and this isn't the first time in recent history that they've had a slow start to a season. Needless to say, Humpty Dumpty will have to put himself back together again very quickly if the Patriots are going to make anything of this season.
Here are some of the players who shined and others who came out dull.
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Umm...well...this will be quick.
Matthew Slater: A pair of nice special teams tackles in punt coverage helped keep this game from being even worse than it was — if you can imagine such a thing.
Brandon LaFell: The Patriots' big offensive free-agent acquisition on the board with six receptions for 119 yards and a third-quarter touchdown catch-and-run of 43 yards. LaFell has been waiting awhile for his time in the spotlight, and he finally got it as the Patriots' leading receiver. Too bad for him, it couldn't have come at a worse time.
Where to begin?
Nate Solder: It's been an awful season for Nate Solder so far, and things didn't get much better on Monday night. Chiefs outside linebacker Tamba Hali logged a third-quarter sack-fumble on Tom Brady, giving the Chiefs the ball inside the 10-yard line. The Patriots starting left tackle was benched on the next drive in favor of Marcus Cannon, but later came back onto the field.
Dont'a Hightower: It's been a great season for Dont'a Hightower so far, but the Patriots' outside linebacker was pushed off the edge with regularity as the Chiefs ran directly at him. Hightower was also targeted on several catches by Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, hearkening back to a 2013 campaign which saw him take quite a few lumps in that role.
Chandler Jones: See Dont'a Hightower's blurb, minus the parts about coverage.
Shane Vereen: Maybe Shane Vereen was just trying to make a big play to help his team, but the Patriots' third-down back left a lot of yards on the field by continually trying to juke defenders in front of him, stutter-stepping and slowing his forward momentum.
Darrelle Revis: For a second straight week, the Patriots' prized free-agent signing was victimized in coverage. Film review may reveal something else, but Revis gave up no less than three receptions into his coverage in the first half alone, for gains of eight, 13 and 15 yards.
Tom Brady: Tom Brady is not infallible. The Patriots quarterback made terrible decisions and costly mistakes on multiple occasions. He had a chance to scramble for a first down on 3rd-and-3 in the second quarter, but chose to throw to Julian Edelman on a pass that fell incomplete. He then proceeded to throw quite possibly the stupidest interception of his career, straight to Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith, who returned it inside the red zone. A pick-six came later, with Brady forcing a pass over the middle that was picked off by safety Husain Abdullah. That was the end of Brady's night, and he was benched for rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
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