By Kevin Sweeney
Over the past two weeks the unparalleled play of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots has fallen short. Everyone who may have thought the Patriots were unbeatable this season is definitely singing a different tune after two tough losses.
Over the last two games we have seen many problems stemming from key injuries to players such as the team’s star tight end Rob Gronkowski as well as wide receiver Julian Edelman. The loss of these two major contributors has caused a lot of issues with the offense; future Hall of Fame QB Tom Brady has done all that he possibly can to make up for the team’s shortcomings and it is extremely apparent that he is missing his two favorite offensive options.
The offensive line play has been another topic for concern for the team and they have been struggling to stay healthy all season long. In the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday we saw absolutely atrocious pass protection for Brady and as well as his play has been this season it is no thanks to his beaten down and battered offensive line. On Sunday Brady threw a key interception on the goal line, which was a game-changing play in favor of the Eagles, and it was simply due to left guard Josh Line not giving his quarterback the time he needed.
Another glaring problem with the team that was overly noticeable on Sunday was the special-teams play, which is normally outstanding from the Patriots. The team gave up two scores because of a lack of success on their special teams, one coming from a punt-return touchdown from Darren Sproles as well as a blocked punt return for a touchdown. These types of plays are the plays that lose games and a generally sound special teams unit of the Patriots has really been the main cause for concern overall.