And that’s all she wrote on the 2015 Patriots after getting thoroughly dominated by the Broncos’ defense in Denver. I didn’t think the Broncos could win a straight-up fight. And while there were quite a few fluky dumbass plays by the Pats, it basically came down to the Broncos defense dominating the Patriots offense.
So full credit to them. We’ve see seasons end like this before. Does it mean blow everything up? Not even close. The entire core returns next season, and with players returning from injury like Nate Solder and Dion Lewis, the Patriots offense is already much better today than it was as they walked off the field in Denver.
But this one was every bit as maddening as past season-enders have been. They weren’t as sharp as they needed to be from the outset. That included a stupid headbutt by Stork that backed them up after a big punt return by Amendola.
I do think the Patriots were late to realize the Broncos offense was done, in hindsight taking field goals at the end probably would’ve won the game. They always err on the side of aggression so I can live with it.
What was brutally apparent was that as soon as the Pats punted on their first possession after winning the toss and receiving, they would be playing catchup the rest of the game. The Broncos had their best drive on their first drive, and never came close to a long sustained drive the rest of the game.
Saw plenty of complaints out there about not deferring, but it’s not that uncommon as we think. They received against Denver in 2013 as well, along with two other times that season. It certainly backfired in this one.
The Pats defense deserves a lot of credit too. They didn’t get much help and they forced five punts and let up just a field goal in the second half. They stopped the run. They got to Manning. They did everything a defense needs to do in the playoffs. And they’re all coming back.
Despite the constant catchup, I really liked our chances for most of the game. Even without their best game, the Pats still went down to the wire and went down swinging. They will never be a team that simply folds and it’s a point of pride no matter how the season ends.
Will take a few days to wrap up the season and then it’s on to free agency and the draft. Another offseason is upon us. Ugh.