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BOSTON — Just about everything that could have gone wrong did indeed go wrong for the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon. And most of them were undone.
Was Another terrible red zone possession It didn’t end with a Patriots field goal. Raiders Blocked a punt After a pair of Patriots special teams were very busy with the pregame chat, which led directly to the Las Vegas scrimmage before halftime. And then There was a last panic game That saw the Patriots lose rather merrily and embarrassingly.
Add it all up and it amounts to a horrible 30-24 loss to drop the Patriots to 7-7 on the season and out of the AFC playoffs. It’s a devastating defeat that can easily sink a team, as it’s a pretty good indication that the team isn’t very good to begin with.
The Patriots’ postseason hopes now hang in the balance, and the team will essentially need to win three remaining games to make the playoffs. With home games against the Bengals and Dolphins followed by a Week 18 meeting with the Bills in Buffalo, a win would be a tough task. ok team. That seems almost impossible for this Patriots team.
But the patriots do not lose hope. They may look completely disjointed and all signs point to the players lacking confidence in their coach, but the group has not lost faith that an epic turnaround is in store for them.
Mack Jones — who could only watch the Raiders score a game-winning touchdown on Sunday after being tackled by Chandler Jones — still believes this team can come together and win some big football games.
“I feel like we have a very mature group of people. We all play for each other, which is the most important part,” Jones said Monday on WEEI. “You have to follow the process and the profits will come. That’s great advice [team captain Matthew] Slater Just get together.
“We could break a lot of things, but we’re not going to,” Jones added. “We’re going to come together and finish as strong as we can. It starts this week.”
You could argue that the Patriots fell apart a long time ago, but Jones still tries to keep things positive. The quarterback said the most important thing at this point is how the team bounces back from Sunday’s embarrassing loss. If they don’t believe in themselves, they’re not going to go anywhere — especially in the postseason.
“I think it’s mentality. It’s all part of your mental game,” he said. “Win or lose, how do you come out next week? Some weeks are harder than others, but this one especially. Just flip the switch and just go.”
Jones is trying to bounce back from one of the worst games of his career. He completed just 42 percent of his passes — his lowest completion rate as an NFL quarterback — and finished with just 112 passing yards in Las Vegas.
The Patriots now host a Bengals team that has won six straight and eight of its last nine games.
Listen to the Patriots-Bengals on WBZ-TV – the television home of the New England Patriots. Coverage begins Wednesday night at 9:30 on TV38 with Patriots 1st Down and continues Friday night on WBZ-TV at 7 with Patriots All Access. Coverage begins Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay, the Pats host the Bengals at 1 p.m., and after the game, stay tuned for Patriots 5th Quarter – all on WBZ-TV!
Staff at CBSBoston.com
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