New England Patriots: Let’s face it, this team is just not good

Let’s soak it up, 2020 is just not the year for the New England Patriots.

Let’s rip the bandage off and get it out of the way: this New England Patriots team isn’t going anywhere.

Not after they lost four consecutive games for the first time since 2002. Not after they went winless in the month of October. And certainly not after they needed a fourth quarter comeback from ten points down against the lowly New York Jets just to end that streak.

If moral victories exist, then Monday night’s Patriots win in the Meadowlands was exactly the opposite of that.

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The 2020 New York Jets are on track to go down as one of the worst teams in NFL history. As bad as their offense is with starting quarterback Sam Darnold, it’s downright horrific without him. Their defense is absolutely awful as well. And their head coach, Adam Gase, is the biggest joke in the league. In their three games prior to Monday night, the Jets had been outscored by a combined total of 77-19.

Yes, you read that correctly. In their three previous games, the Jets had scored a combined total of nineteen points.

And then, playing with a backup quarterback by the name of Joe Flacco, they put up twenty points on the Patriots IN THE FIRST HALF.

Now, just about everyone knew that the 2020 Patriots offense was going to be bad. After all, if they couldn’t score very many points with Tom Brady under center last year, then how on Earth were they supposed to do so with Cam Newton and essentially the same weapons this season?

The New England Patriots defense failing team

But we thought that the New England Patriots defense would still be good.

Sure, several key players opted-out of the season, most notably linebacker Dont’a Hightower. And yes, cornerback Stephon Gilmore—the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year—missed Monday night’s game due to an injury. But the Patriots still have numerous playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, including Devin McCourty, J.C. Jackson, and Chase Winovich.

Clearly, though, we were wrong.

The New England Patriots certainly seemed to miss the likes of Hightower and Gilmore on Monday night, when they allowed 20 first half points to an absolutely abysmal Jets offense. The Patriots defense made Joe Flacco and Breshad Perriman look like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice.

Yup. The Patriots defense got torn apart by Joe Freaking Flacco.

Here are the quarterbacks that the Patriots are scheduled to face over the next four weeks: Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, Kyler Murray, and Justin Herbert.

Jackson is the reigning NFL MVP. Murray is the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year. Herbert is currently the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2020. And two-time Pro Bowler Watson is one of the league’s brightest young stars.

If the Patriots couldn’t even stop Joe Flacco, then how on Earth do you expect them to stop any of those guys?

Sure, getting Stephon Gilmore back will certainly help the defense. And it’s very possible that the offense will continue to make strides as Cam Newton gets more and more comfortable in Josh McDaniels’s system.

But it’s time to face the music. Any team that needs a fourth quarter comeback just to beat the lowly New York Jets has zero business finishing with a winning record, let alone making the playoffs.

Let’s just admit it: this New England Patriots team isn’t going anywhere.