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Tom Brady and the New England Patriots suffered a devastating, season-ending playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday.
That means New England won’t be going to its fourth straight Super Bowl, a new AFC team will get a shot at a title for the first time since Peyton Manning ended his career with a Super Bowl win over the Panthers, and Brady won’t get a shot at a seventh title.
It also has many people wondering about the future of a franchise that has become the best in all of sports, winning six Super Bowls since 2001, playing in 9 Super Bowls since then, and winning 11 straight AFC East championships.
Are Brady’s days in New England over? What about Bill Belichick’s run with the team? Is this dynasty really over?
Here’s what should happen: Tom Brady and the Patriots agree on a one-year deal that works for both sides. Belichick stays put. The Patriots re-tool in the offseason, and they come back for one last chance to stick it to those who think they are done.
Now that would be so on brand with the “Patriot Way.” Ignore the noise outside of the building, take care of things off the field, then put it all on the line back on the field when the 2020 season starts next September.
The Patriots don’t need to do much to stay in contention next year. It’s obvious they need some weapons on offense, most notably a tight end and some wide receivers. But they will still have Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, who seemed to get better late in his injury-shortened rookie year, and Mohamed Sanu. Add a few more guys, give Brady time work with them in the preseason and regular season and… who knows?
The Patriots could also get back center David Andrews back next year after he missed all of this year with blood clots in his lungs. Shore up that offensive line to protect Brady, much like they did in 2018, and… who knows?
The Patriots’ defense should be strong again next year, which is usually the case when Belichick is overseeing the group.
Would a 43-year-old Brady have much left in the tank to take care of his end of all this? That’s the biggest question mark but he can still make throws that others can’t and you know he’ll have his body in the best shape as possible to attack another year.
Forget about breaking up. Forget about listening to all those who think their run is over.
Re-load and give it one more shot.
The NFL needs its villain, and the Patriots would love nothing more than to continue playing that role.
NFL Wild-Card Weekend Awards
Here’s my gif-by-gif look back at the wild things that happened over the weekend, including Kirk Cousins’ awesome celebration in the locker room after Minnesota’s huge win over Saints on Sunday. What a performance by Cousins.
Quick hits: McCown’s heartfelt answer… Brady/Brees jokes… Diggs’ epic photo… And more!
– A teary Josh McCown gave such a great answer about how special it was to play in his first playoff game at the age of 40.
– NFL fans had a lot of jokes about Tom Brady and Drew Brees being eliminated from the playoffs.
– This postgame photo of Stefon Diggs and Sean Payton is so good.
– Marshawn Lynch casually threw an Eagles DB to the ground, which was so Beast Mode.
– Jerry Jones did his best to steal some attention from the Eagles on Sunday.
(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)