No post-Turkey napping
Rested Patriots must find perennial late form
FOXBORO — The Patriots have to get their mojo back. They also need to earn a more favorable spot in the AFC’s pecking order for the postseason.
In the simplest terms, those are the priorities for Bill Belichick’s team after returning from the bye week. When it comes to playoff seeding, and gaining the desired first-round bye and home-field advantage at least in the divisional round, the next stretch of games is especially critical.
And it starts with the New York Jets on Sunday.
It helps having a cream puff after an embarrassing loss. The Jets might know the Patriots from playing them a zillion times, but it’s hard to take them seriously at 3-7.
Still, it’s a division game, and a road game, the latter being a Patriots bugaboo this season. This is a springboard game.
Either the Pats will launch toward the desired goal with a rousing win, or they’ll continue to be hampered by uninspired play on the road.
With all the self-scouting and self-correcting that comes during a bye week, the Patriots need to get back on the horse and start playing like contenders especially after that dismal loss in Tennessee. This is the point in the year when the team starts to take off and play its best football. After a six-game winning streak, the Titans game was a huge setback.
Even though they’ve suffered similar road losses at Jacksonville and Detroit, it’s hard to say if Tennesse was just another blip, or a permanent flaw that can’t be corrected. The next few games should help determine the narrative. The Patriots’ response will be telling.
“We know this is the most important stretch of the season, the last six games, most of them are division games,” wide receiver Phillip Dorsett said. “We’re sitting at a good place, but we all know where we want to get. We’re taking one game at a time. We’re going to be dealing with a lot. These teams that we’re playing, they know us a lot. We just have to focus on this game coming up.”
With a healthy lineup, including tight end Rob Gronkowski’s expected return, the Patriots don’t want to just eke out a win at the Meadowlands. They don’t want to invite more questions and criticism.
They need to come out of the gates fast and take care of the Jets in convincing fashion, proving they can play well on the road. After all, the Bills just blew the Jets out with a quarterback (Matt Barkley) they picked up off the street.
Then the Pats can tackle a difficult three-game stretch, facing the Minnesota Vikings at home and traveling to Miami, where they always seem to have a hard time, and Pittsburgh.
The Kansas City Chiefs remain at the top of the AFC, but the Steelers (7-2-1), Patriots (7-3), Texans (7-3) and Chargers (7-3) are battling for the second seed and its accompanying first-round bye. It’s possible the No. 2 spot once again will come down to the Dec. 16 meeting between the Pats and Steelers at Heinz Field.
But let’s not look too far ahead. All that will be moot if the Patriots don’t get their act together and take care of business at the Meadowlands.
Belichick, his coaching staff and the players surely will pump up the Jets all week even though head coach Todd Bowles is on the hot seat, likely on his way out.
“It’s the Jets. Going there, we’ve had a lot of close games there,” Dorsett said. “We know they’re going to bring everything they have. We have to do the same. They always bring it against us no matter what their record is. We have to match their intensity.”
Football season starts after Thanksgiving. That’s what the Patriots like to say. It’s hard to argue, considering what’s ahead and what’s at stake. The Pats are well-rested. They’ve done their homework. It’s been a while, but they still want to erase the memory of that Titans game and assume their place among the top contenders in the AFC.
“The bye week came at a good week,” cornerback Stephon Gilmore said. “I feel like it came at the right time for us physically and mentally. But we still have to prepare well this week to get ready for the Jets. They have a good football team. You can’t look at the record.
“They have a lot of playmakers, a lot of young players who can play. You can’t overlook anybody because it’s the NFL. Anybody can beat you. But we’re refreshed, we got away from it a little bit. I think everybody’s ready to go this week. We’re just taking it one game at a time. We have the Jets this week. That’s where the focus is.”