Week 4 Against The Dolphins Is The Most Important September Patriots Game We’ve Seen In A Long Time
We’ve seen it a million times, right? The Pats stumble through the first month of the regular season, experimenting with different schemes and different players so they can be polished when the games really matter.
Not quite. This time feels different. Through the 18 years of the Brady/Belichick era, there’s never been this level of scarcity when it comes to having play-makers on both sides of the ball. There is a glaring lack of talent on this roster.
On top of that, the Patriots’ slow starts always result in 2-2 at the worst before they nearly run the table the rest of the way. They never go 1-3. They’ve dug themselves quite the hole if they lose to the undefeated Dolphins next week, and this team definitely isn’t built to win on the road in the playoffs.
The offensive line can improve. Getting Edelman back and hopefully getting Gordon acclimated will be a big help. But it’ll take way more than Patrick Chung and Trey Flowers to fix that defense
Sunday night’s loss in Detroit was ugly. Of course we have to take into consideration that Matt Patricia knows the Patriots tendencies better than any head coach in the league, but it was more than that. The Lions, who were thought to be dead in the water after their 0-2 start, were far and away the faster and more skilled team.
The importance of week 4’s matchup is something that we’re not accustomed to as Patriots fans. It’s rare for Brady and company to have their backs against the wall this early. We’re now faced with the reality that the Miami Dolphins are in position to grab a stranglehold on the AFC East.
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