New England Patriots: Three reasons dynasty isn’t over

Sam Minton

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 04: Julian Edelman #11 of the New England Patriots looks on before the AFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Everyone is saying that the New England Patriots dynasty is over, but don’t count New England out next season.

This hasn’t been a fun few days for New England Patriots fans. Basically all of the world is laughing in our faces and saying that New England is toast.

There is no doubt that Saturday night’s loss was a punch to the gut, but let’s not be Debbie downers. The Patriots are still one of the top teams in the AFC if not the NFL.

Heading into the offseason there are a lot of questions about who will be on the roster or who will be on the coaching staff. But some of the most important pieces in the franchise are staying put.

So even though the entire world is saying that the Patriots dynasty is over, here are 3 reasons those people are wrong.

Bill Belichick is still the head coach

Even though we don’t know if Tom Brady will still be on the team next season, we know for a fact Bill Belichick will.

Key defensive pieces are returning

The Patriots have a decent amount of free agents heading into the 2020 offseason. These include players such as Devin McCourty, Kyle Van Noy, and Jamie Collins.

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But New England has most of their key defensive players returning. Stephon Gilmore, Dont’a Hightower and Duron Harmon aren’t going anywhere.

Gilmore had one of the best seasons of his career in 2019. If he can maintain this level of play the Patriots will have one of the best defenses in the NFL once again.

Also I expect (and hope) that Hightower improves in 2020. He will most likely have a larger role in the defense with Kyle Van Noy looking for a paycheck.

I also expect Devin McCourty to stay with the team. He deserves to end his career as a member of the Patriots and Robert Kraft will want him too as well. It is also hard to imagine McCourty leaving his brother.

The Patriots will still have a strong defense that will probably help them win some games. Even if they do lose some players to free agency

A chip on their shoulder

There is no other way to put it. The New England Patriots got embarrassed by the Titans. A Wild Card game at Gillette is as close to a guaranteed win as you can get.

New England found out that they weren’t as invincible as they once were. The road to the Super Bowl isn’t a cakewalk.

I would not want to face the Patriots in 2020. They will be out for blood and wanting to blow out teams. Hopefully we will be back to the days of New England putting up 40 or 50 points.

New England will be at the top of the AFC East and probably the top of the conference as well. The Patriots will go pedal to the metal until they are lifting the Lombardi Trophy (which I wouldn’t be surprised to see them do).

So don’t worry Patriots fans, everything will be alright. The sky is not falling and the dynasty is not over.

Sam Minton

Sam Minton is a graduate of Salem State University where he majored in Communications with a concentration in Journalism. He is a passionate sports fan with his favorite teams being the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, New England Patriots, New England Revolution and New York Yankees.