The New England Patriots suffered a humbling loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night, but how much does it impact their standing in the AFC?
The Patriots defense had been playing at a historic level through eight weeks, and even though the offense was a bit inconsistent over that span, there were enough positives from Tom Brady and Co. to think they could move the ball and score plenty of points against a Ravens defense that has almost no pass rush.
Well, the Ravens came out and dominated the defending Super Bowl champions right off the bat. Baltimore scored a touchdown on its opening drive and led 17-0 at one point in the second quarter. The Patriots made it a little interesting early in the third quarter, but two very long touchdown drives by Baltimore in the second half ultimately were too much for New England to overcome.
The Patriots remain the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff race entering their Week 10 bye, but the Ravens (6-2), Houston Texans (6-3) and Kansas City Chiefs (6-3) aren't far behind. Should we still view the Pats as the AFC's top team after their disappointing loss to the Ravens?
Former NFL MVP and current CBS NFL analyst Boomer Esiason gave an emphatic answer to that question on Monday's edition of "The Greg Hill Show" on WEEI.
“Absolutely. 100 percent," Esiason said. "It’s a long season. (Sunday) was a weird day. Every team in the NFC lost. If your last name was Allen and you played quarterback you won, and there were three of those. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers had their asses handed to them yesterday. The Indianapolis Colts lost another starting quarterback. There was a lot of weird stuff happening in the NFL yesterday, including last night’s 37-20 victory by the Ravens.”
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It's important not to overreact too much after one loss, especially when the Patriots certainly haven't been immune to these embarrassing defeats. In fact, they've suffered what many people would consider a bad loss in most of their Super Bowl-winning seasons.
2003: 31-0 loss at Buffalo Bills
2004: 34-20 loss at Pittsburgh Steelers
2014: 41-14 loss at Kansas City Chiefs
2018: 34-10 loss at Tennessee Titans
The good news for the Patriots is they have two weeks to prepare for the toughest portion of their 2019 schedule. They come out of their bye with matchups at the Philadelphia Eagles, home to the Dallas Cowboys, at the Houston Texans and home to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Patriots might not be the historically dominant team that some of the stats suggested entering Week 9, but they still are the class of the AFC until someone prevents them from reaching a fourth consecutive Super Bowl.
Phil Perry: Did Pats find an offensive identity in Baltimore?
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