Patriots still searching for answers after latest loss to Kansas City
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. » No team is immune from hearing the frustrations of its fan base. Not even the six-time Super Bowl champion Patriots.
Philadelphia Eagles fans infamously pelted Santa Claus with snowballs while watching their twowin team trudge to the end of a dismal season.
Frustrations have reached such a point in New England that Patriots fans resorted to booing their 10-win team off the field during halftime of its 23-16 loss to the Chiefs.
Since starting 8-0, New England is 2-3 and has lost back-to-back games for the first this season.
The good news is it still sits atop the AFC East with two of its final three games against teams currently sitting at the bottom of their divisions.
But it’s a small consolation for a team that left the field Sunday lamenting its ongoing issues as well as the impact of multiple questionable calls by officials.
“Obviously, it gets frustrating, but calls get made and calls don’t get made,” receiver Phillip Dorsett. “I know it is a tough job on the referees, but at the end of the day, it is what it is.”
The most notable example was early in the fourth quarter with the Patriots trailing 23-13. N’Keal Harry caught a short pass from Tom Brady and appeared to stretch the ball over the pylon for a touchdown. But Harry was ruled to have stepped out of bounds at the 3-yard line.
New England eventually settled for a field goal.
Coach Bill Belichick declined to say what, if any conversations he’s had with the league office about the officiating Sunday.
“I would treat those as private conversations,” Belichick said. “I wouldn’t try to speak for somebody else . ... I don’t believe in that.”
The Patriots used some creativity to energize their offense but still came up short in their final drive with a chance to tie or win the game. They have been plagued by season-long issues converting on third downs (2 for 12 for the game) and scoring touchdowns in the red zone (1 for 3).
For the season the Patriots rank 17th in the NFL in third-down conversion percentage (37.4%). They are also scoring on just 48% of their trips inside the 20-yard line, which ranks 27th in the league.
During his weekly appearance on WEEI radio Monday, Brady said the offense is still working to find cohesion.
“I don’t think you ever feel like you’re done with that. I would say for as long as you play you’re always trying to be on the same page,” Brady said. “Hopefully it pays off at some point.”
When the Patriots suffered a humbling 41-14 loss at Kansas City in 2014, after the game a frustrated Belichick repeatedly responded “We’re on to Cincinnati” when asked to elaborate on the loss. On Monday, Brady took to Instagram and channeled his coach.