Challenging times for Pats

Like the New England Patriots or not, it’s difficult to deny that officiating played a role in their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that, ahem, one of us correctly predicted.

When Bill Belichick had to use his second and final challenge to get a Travis Kelce fumble ruled correctly, he had none left for what appeared to be an incorrect call that receiver N’Keal Harry had stepped out of bounds before plunging into the end zone. Or when Kendall Fuller looked to interfere with Phillip Dorsett on a third down play deep in Chiefs territory to with three and a half minutes left.

But talk about a tough crowd. Trailing 20-7 at halftime in what turned out to be a 23-16 loss that stopped the Patriots’ home winning streak at 19 games, the Foxboro faithful booed loudly as their team made its way to the locker-room for the intermission.

After the game, Tom Brady admitted he noticed their dissatisfaction.

“You hear cheers, you hear boos, that’s part of being in sports,” Brady said, adding it made him “try to play better” in the second half.

Brady did have another subpar day, completing just 19-of-36 passes for 169 yards, including one touchdown and one interception. While he does have five 300-plus yard games, he is averaging just 6.7 yards per attempt this season, the second-worst mark of his career.

While the Chiefs (9-4) clinched first place in the AFC West for the fourth straight year, the Patriots (103) have now lost three of their past five, with all three (K.C., Houston and Baltimore) against teams they could face in the playoffs.

In other words, this looks very much like it could be a year the Super Bowl is played with the Patriots watching on their TVs back home.