Thoughts & Reactions: Tom Brady, Patriots Stall at the Goal Line in 31-24 Loss

The New England Patriots could not find their defensive groove losing to the Seattle Seahawks 31-24 Sunday night at Gillette Stadium.

It took a last-second goal-line stand, but the Seattle Seahawks held on to be the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl XLIX rematch.

In another great battle between these two teams, the Seahawks were able to capitalize on the soft defense the Patriots displayed throughout the game. Seattle wide receiver Doug Baldwin scored three touchdowns, including a game-winning touchdown on a nice 15-yard pass from Russell Wilson with just 4:24 left in fourth quarter.

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Tom Brady, who was intercepted for the first time this season, led the Patriots on a final drive that fell short on the one-yard line. Following a couple of big pass plays to Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, Brady tried a quarterback sneak and then running back LeGarrette Blount was stuffed on a run.

New England then tried a second quarterback sneak, but Brady lost handle of the ball leading to a final play which saw the ball travel just over the head of Gronkowski who was being pulled down by Seattle safety Kam Chancellor. The refs did not pull the flag although there was a lot of contact on the play.

With the loss, the Patriots are now 7-2 and look to get back in the win column in a Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.

My Thoughts

The New England Patriots were okay on offense. Brady led the team on a nice opening drive score to take a 7-0 lead. Running back LeGarrette Blount showed his power on a few key drives for the Patriots. Led by fullback James Develin, Blount rushed for three touchdowns in the game. He had a nice beast-mode type one-yard plunge late in the second quarter.

Nov 13, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots fullback James Develin (46) celebrates with running back LeGarrette Blount (29) after a touchdown during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /

It was good to see the Patriots establish the run and stick with it throughout the game. Brady wasn’t great, but he was able to deliver the big plays when necessary. He had a couple nice connections to Julian Edelman. One was a key third-and-25 connection in the third quarter. The play led to a Stephen Gostkowski field goal that put the Patriots up 24-22 at the time.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots clearly missed linebacker Jamie Collins. Rookie linebacker Elandon Roberts was burned on 38-yard- pass reception from Wilson to running back C.J. Prosise. The play led to a 23-yard field goal to give Seattle a 25-24 lead at the time.

Cornerback Justin Coleman also had a rough night. He gave up some big plays at crucial times, including a pass interference call on a key third down. Coleman also was flagged for clipping during a nice return by Cyrus Jones.

Overall, the secondary did not look great at all. The Patriots desperately need to improve their pass defense and communication. Baldwin’s second touchdown score of the night came just before halftime on a wide open play with nine guys back on the play. The touchdown was not only embarrassing, but concerning as well.

Luckily, Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia have some time to get the defense on the same page and effective.

Player/coaches reactions

Tom Brady on last play no-call on Rob Gronkowski via WEEI:

"“I didn’t see it. I mean, there was a lot of – there’s always a lot of contact with that team. Sometimes you get the call, sometimes you don’t. So certainly, it looks like it came down to one play, but there were a lot of plays in this game that we could have done a better job of. They’re a good team. We knew that going in and we have to play better than the way we played. We were just too careless with the ball. They weren’t. The turnovers were a big factor. We had our chances. We just didn’t make enough plays.”"

Bill Belichick on the team’s play-calling via ESPN:

"“I’m not going to get into the specific calls. I mean, we’d be here all night talking about every play and 15 things that could’ve been different on each play. We have different ways of calling plays.”"

Rob Ninkovich on how to improve the defense via Patriots.com:

"“Coming into this week, we understood they’re a really good football team in all three phases. They’re very well coached and they’re a solid team, so I’ve said it many times, you’ve got to give them credit for making the plays they had to make to win the football game. We have to do a better job. We’ve got a lot more games to play, so you take it on the chin, you move on and you learn from it and keep grinding.”"

Next: Boston Sports Daily: Boston Red Sox And Celtics Notes

The New England Patriots head into a bye week and will next host the Seattle Seahawks in a Week 10 matchup.

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