Patriots’ loss is the perfect recipe for Bill Belichick
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick walking off the field after Rob Gronkowski was carted off with an injured leg against the Broncos.
COMMENTARY
Dare we say what happened in Denver Sunday night was…perfect?
If hardship does indeed build character, then the New England Patriots may have emerged from their first loss of the season not just angry and relatively unscathed after what initially appeared to be a devastating injury, but also fortified.
Yes, the Patriots made their share of mistakes (hello, Chris Harper … or, actually, goodbye) in their 30-24 overtime loss to the Broncos, but they were also repeatedly jobbed by an incompetent referee crew along the way. Yes, they lost both linebacker Dont’a Hightower and tight end Rob Gronkowski to knee injuries, but neither appears serious enough to warrant missing any significant time. And, yes, the quest for 19-0 is over for another season.
Good riddance.
A sequel to the Sunday night showdown might happen in the playoffs, albeit at sea level. If so, the New England Patriots will likely be much closer to the sort of full-strength potency they simply couldn’t muster in Denver. There could even be snow in Foxborough on Jan. 24, when the Patriots could potentially host the AFC Championship Game, possibly against the Broncos, but everything else will feel different.
Julian Edelman should be there for such a rematch, along with fellow wide receiver Danny Amendola, Hightower, linebacker Jamie Collins, and the irreplaceable Gronkowski, who might not even miss a game in the wake of what appeared to be the worst-case scenario for New England. Brock Osweiler may or may not still be under center for the Broncos. It depends on how Denver management balances doing what’s right for the team and appeasing the quarterback formerly known as Peyton Manning.
Bill Belichick must silently revel in this turn of events. The perfect season was never really a goal for his team, but an offshoot of its dominance that would have looked good commemorated on a plaque in the offices at Patriot Place. For Belichick, the mission always was, still is, concluding the Roger Goodell Memorial Middle Finger Tour with a fifth Super Bowl title.
With that goal in mind, the Patriots’ head coach has to like what he learned about his team Sunday night as it nearly knocked off the Broncos with a skeleton crew. The same guy who said last season’s blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs taught him a good amount about what he might have on his hands in terms of talent and resiliency, had to have a similar feeling buried deep within the exasperation and frustration he displayed in the closing moments of Sunday’s loss, not to mention during his uncomfortable meeting with the media afterward.
“Obviously there were some things that we could have done better,’’ Belichick said on Sunday, “could have coached better, could have played better, but guys really played hard and I have all the respect in the world for this football team, the way they competed so proud of what – the way they went at battle tonight, disappointed in the end result, but have to get back to work this week for Philadelphia.’’
In reality, the Eagles, a team that has clearly quit on coach Chip Kelly, represent a layup on Sunday, a chance for Belichick’s team to catch its breath after its most intense game of the season. It’s a warmup for what has turned out to be a pivotal game against the Houston Texans, suddenly in the playoff picture, in two weeks. By the time the Patriots get to the Jets over Christmas break, they should already have the AFC East and perhaps the conference’s top seed in their grasp. It’s difficult to fathom that anything beyond Dec. 20 won’t be done with eye toward January.
The Patriots could very well finish the 2015 campaign with an 18-1 record, identical to their mark eight years ago, and different in every which way.
“We will keep fighting,’’ Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said on Sunday. “We lost tonight and it was a tough game. We had to come on the road and had a big lead and didn’t make enough plays in the fourth quarter. It is tough to win and when you lose good players it hurts. It always hurts to lose. We had plenty of opportunities to win and we will try to get back to work this week and figure out how to put a plan together that we are confident about next week.’’
Walking Wounded they might be, but aside from Dion Lewis and Aaron Dobson, the injured are mending quickly. Amendola and Gronkowski may be back for the Eagles game, though the level of rout it promises to be suggests both should take another week. Collins’s return is imminent. We think. Hightower … well, who knows.
But the Monday news on Gronkowski couldn’t be more promising, under the circumstances, leaving that solitary item in the Patriots’ loss column as little more than a blemish on a still stellar season. Consider it an experience that their head coach can use to better understand the different aspects of this year’s team (minus Harper, of course).
In other words, watch out.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so visibly pissed off after a loss,’’ Brady said during his Monday morning appearance on WEEI. “And I think everyone felt the same way. Hopefully we can use it as motivation going forward.’’
Whoops. Now you’ve gone and done it.
Add the league referees to the Middle Finger Tour list of revenge. With Gronkowski reportedly not seriously hurt, and the Patriots seething as a group wronged at Mile High, the best team in football just got better overnight. In defeat.
Perfect.
Contact Eric Wilbur at: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @GlobeEricWilbur
Pictures: Patriots suffer first defeat of the season in Denver
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