Patriots wide receiver Josh Gordon, after taking a personal leave of absence for mental health reasons, has subsequently been suspended by the National Football League for violating the league’s substance abuse policy for the fifth time in his career. The news is shocking, yet totally believable at the same time, given Gordon’s past issues with marijuana.
Let’s make one thing very clear, right off the bat. Josh Gordon’s football career is always going to be secondary to his personal well-being, and we can figure that five offenses of the policy is not indicative of a wealthy superstar blowing his dream job through stupid choices. Rather, Gordon appears to be fighting an addiction, something no one should ever wish on anybody. It is his duty to care for himself, and I wish him the best in his personal journey towards reaching an improved mental state.
Focusing back to football, it can be assumed that the Patriots will take care of business these next two weeks, secure wins against the lowly Buffalo Bills and New York Jets at home, and put the finishing touches on their tenth consecutive AFC East title.
What happens after that remains to be seen. New England (9-5) will likely enter the playoffs as either the 2 or 3-seed in the AFC, assuming they don’t lose either of their final two games. But the AFC playoffs figure to be difficult. The Kansas City Chiefs (11-3) possess arguably the league’s best offense, led by young quarterback phenom Patrick Mahomes, while the upstart Los Angeles Chargers (11-3) have won ten of their last eleven to elevate themselves into the postseason in what could be Philip Rivers’ last chance at a Super Bowl. Going further down the list, teams like the Indianapolis Colts (8-6), Baltimore Ravens (8-6), and Tennessee Titans (8-6) all carry the ability to make things difficult for the higher seeds. And we can’t forget about the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5-1), who shocked the Patriots last week with a 17-10 win at Heinz Field.
Much has been said the last few days about the Pats’ season going down the toilet after a second consecutive loss, something the Patriots haven’t done in December since 2002. Some of it is warranted. Tom Brady has a severe lack of weapons in the receiving corps (particularly after the loss of Gordon), and Rob Gronkowski hasn’t been the type of dynamic, dominant tight end he’s proven to be capable of in previous seasons. On defense, a weak run defense has allowed teams to stick around or, in some cases, dominate against the Patriots (i.e. Pittsburgh’s Jaylen Samuels and Miami’s Kenyan Drake.)
However, there are signs of positivity lingering beneath the surface created by prognosticators and various media outlets. And with just two weeks until the postseason, these are the values that New England will need to lean on.
First, let’s not forget that out of all the AFC playoff contenders, the Patriots have the best record against teams over .500. They’re 5-2 against winning teams this season:
Patriots, 5-2
Chargers, 4-2
Chiefs, 3-3
Texans, 3-3
Steelers, 2-3
Ravens, 2-3
To bounce off that point, the Patriots have wins against the two teams that are currently beating them out for the AFC’s top two seeds, the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs. New England took care of Houston 27-20 in Week 1, and hung up 43 points on the Chiefs in Week 6 to secure a 43-40 victory over the AFC’s best current team.
All of this shouldn’t discount the ugly losses the Patriots suffered against losing teams like Jacksonville and Detroit. But it’s definitely worth thinking about as the “sky is falling” banter continues in a city that’s known nothing but winning since 2001.
Additionally, the Pats have shown bright spots on the actual gridiron, particularly in the secondary. The defensive backfield knew it would have to stop two of the NFL’s greatest receivers last week, in Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuester. Combined, the two outstanding wideouts were limited to just eight catches for 89 yards. Consider it a W for a unit that’s been much-maligned in years past.
Finally, it’s hard to imagine a Bill Belichick-coached team getting flagged 14 times, two weeks in a row. What happened against Pittsburgh was inexcusable, and much of it falls on the offensive line for not being able to maintain discipline when it mattered most. However, we have to respect the culture that the Patriots have built–and preserved–for eighteen consecutive winning seasons. They consistently rank among the league’s least penalized teams. This year’s team has proven to be, on more than one occasion, very self-inflicted. And it could end up being their greatest asset, if Belichick is able to right the ship like he’s done so many times.
This season has had a different feel to it than past campaigns. There’s clearly less talent, and mistakes have been more plentiful than in the past. But the Patriots have given us too much reason to believe they’ll collectively become choking dogs by the Wild-Card round. They might not be the favorites this season, but the Pats are far from down and out in an AFC that’s anybody’s for the taking.
