The New England Patriots 19-year reign in the National Football League is over.
The dynasty that delivered nine Super Bowl appearances, six Super Bowl championships and 11 consecutive division titles is finished.
The Bill Belichick-Tom Brady Era as we know it is done.
Yes, the Patriots are in the playoffs, again, but they are staggering to the post-season. And the staggering began long before their embarrassing 27-24 loss to the lowly Miami Dolphins Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. It began halfway through the season. The Pats, you remember, started hot and won their first eight games, thanks to an out of this world, touchdown-proof defense and a soft schedule. Pats fans started hallucinating about a perfect season and a seventh Super Bowl championship.
Then reality struck. Opponents improved, the offense did not intimidate, the defense returned to earth, and the Patriots stumbled to a 4-4 second half. They lost at Baltimore and at Houston and at home to Kansas City and Miami. Their 16-0 regular season became 12-4. Their playoff seeding dropped from first to third. Their Super Bowl prospects went from pretty good to I-don’t-think-so.
The debacle against the Dolphins cost them a playoff bye they desperately needed and home field advantage for the second round. Instead of a week off to give stalwarts like Brady and Julian Edelman a chance to rest and recover, they will play a wildcard game Saturday night against the dangerous Tennessee Titans. The game is in Foxborough, but as the Dolphins and the Chiefs proved, Gillette Stadium is no longer a guaranteed sanctuary for the Patriots.
We knew this day would come, of course, but we hoped it would be on the Patriots terms, didn’t we? Another drive to the Super Bowl, perhaps even another ring. Instead, Brady is playing like the 42-year-old quarterback he is, not the QB he was at mid-career. No surprise there. He is aging! Brady still has the smarts; this year, he lacks the parts. His go-to tight end Rob Gronkowski retired, his go-to flanker Edelman is seriously banged up, his offensive line has kept him in survival mode, his running backs have not terrorized defenses. Center Dave Andrews is out with blood clots. Fullback James Develin is out with a neck injury. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski is sidelined with a hip condition. Rookie wide receiver N’Keal Harry has been slow to develop as a result of injuries going back to training camp.
If the Pats manage to win Saturday night, they will deserve the cheers that will come their way, cheers that will be short-lived because their next game will be at Kansas City and the game after that, should they pull the upset, would be at Baltimore. Beating the Chiefs and the Ravens on their turf is not likely.
So as the NFL’s Centennial, the second decade of the 21st Century and the Patriots dynasty end, let’s remember the Super Bowl good times. Brady driving the Pats down the field for Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning field goal and New England’s first Super Bowl triumph in 2002. Malcolm Butler’s goal-line interception to save the day against the Seahawks in 2015. Coming back from that 28-3 halftime deficit against the Falcons and winning in overtime in 2017. Edelman’s 10-catch, 141-yard effort, Jason McCourty’s dash from the sideline to the center of the end zone to break up a certain touchdown pass, and Gronk’s blocking and two great receptions to set up Sony Michel’s fourth-quarter touchdown plunge against the Rams last year.
Let’s savor those memories because the Patriots dynasty is done.
