You have to feel bad for the New England Patriots defense.
This group has played really well the last couple weeks, most notably in Week 10 against the Indianapolis Colts in Germany and Sunday versus the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
The Patriots defense allowed just 10 points in both games, which should translate to winning far more often than not. In fact, the loss to the Colts was the first time since 2001 that the Patriots lost a game when allowing 10 or fewer points.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Sunday's 10-7 loss to the Giants was a new low for the Patriots offense. This unit committed three turnovers, picked up just 283 total yards and went 4-for-14 on third down. The passing attack was abysmal. Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe combined to complete 21 of 35 pass attempts for 136 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions. The Giants defense entered Week 12 allowing the fifth-most points at 25.9 per game, so to score just a single touchdown is pretty awful for the Patriots offense.
The Patriots defense's margin for error is extremely slim given how poorly the offense is playing.
🔊 Patriots Talk: Patriots give off disengaged vibe in loss to Giants | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
Veteran safety Adrian Phillips made some interesting comments to the Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan after Sunday's game.
"We gave up 10 points, and lost the game two weeks in a row. So now, we've gotta give up zero; whatever we can (do) to get our offense the ball back and get a chance to win," Phillips told Callahan. "If 10 ain't enough, then we gotta bat 1.000, and give up zero."
It would be hard to fault Phillips if he's feeling a little frustrated with the team's offense. The Patriots just became the first team in 30 years to give up 10 or fewer points in back-to-back games and lose both matchups.
Ironically, the last team to do that was the 1993 Patriots, who went 5-11 in Drew Bledsoe's rookie season.
It's going to be difficult for the Patriots to keep their next opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers, to 10 points or less. The Chargers rank eighth in scoring at 25.9 points per game. Justin Herbert is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the league and he's surrounded by plenty of talent at the skill positions.
The Chargers defense isn't very good, but that might not matter much because the Patriots offense is arguably the worst in the league. New England has scored more than 20 points just once in 11 games this season.
