The New England Patriots are 9-1 this season, but they still have a ton of room for improvement as the postseason creeps up.
New England defeated the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in a hard-fought 17-10 game. Tom Brady and the offense struggled mightily in the red zone and the defense had a tremendous bounce-back game. The only Patriots touchdown came from a double-pass trick play that was thrown by Julian Edelman. The rest of the points came from Nick Folk field goals — which was definitely a positive from this game.
Brady understands that this offense needs to crank it up a notch before the postseason begins and that the Patriots are currently playing through the most difficult stretch of the schedule. The next three games include the Dallas Cowboy, Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs. It’ll be a test for this defense and it’ll give the offense a playoff atmosphere to prepare for the postseason.
Here are five takeaways from the game.
Tom Brady has been trending in a negative direction
Either Brady’s age or the lack of protection has led to a steady decline in production for the 42 year old quarterback. With the combination of his 21 incompletions and inability to score in the red zone, Brady has relied heavily on the defense to bail him out.
Tom Brady threw 21 incomplete passes vs. Eagles. Before Sunday, Brady threw 21 or more incompletions in a regular-season game only 15 times in his career. Patriots were 4-11 in those games.
Patriots were lucky to escape with win.
— Ryan Hannable (@RyanHannable) November 18, 2019
Brady started off the first five games with ten touchdowns and one interception — he’s had four touchdowns and three interceptions in his last five games. The level of competition likely played a factor, and he’s also without key offensive linemen and his critical blocker with James Develin.
He was visibly frustrated in his press conference after the game and Brady is conscious of the fact that the offense isn’t clicking right now. It doesn’t help that the rushing attack has been non-existent so far this season and that the receiving corps continues to change. N’Keal Harry had a positive debut game for the Patriots and his presence along with Mohamed Sanu should play a huge role heading into the postseason.
Whether it’s Brady’s age or the lack of protection, Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels have limited time to find a solution.