Is it time for the New England Patriots to panic after 1-3 start?
Going into 2021, the New England Patriots' era of dominance was teetering on collapse. After missing the playoffs and losing the division in 2020, the Patriots had 2021 to regain some semblance of the team of yore. Otherwise, it would be clear they're in an entirely new era.
At 1-3, the Patriots are 60 minutes of football away from collapse. Here's why and a look at what this means.
Will the Patriots start panicking?
At 1-3, with their only win coming over the New York Jets, the Patriots are in dangerous territory. According to Fansided, from 1990 to 2013, only 23 teams starting 1-3 have made the playoffs. If the Patriots start 1-4, their season is realistically over. The odds of the Patriots making a playoff run are so small it is essentially impossible.
The reason for a 1-3 start to be nearly as bad is that the pressure of every game mounts. While the top teams don't face single elimination until January, the bottom teams essentially face single-elimination starting in October. At 1-3, the Patriots are one of those teams.
Bill Belichick, who has a losing career record without Tom Brady, was asked if he believes he would have had the same level of success without Brady?
Belichick: "Of course not."
"There's no quarterback I would rather have than Tom Brady. I was very lucky to have Tom." https://t.co/HlNKgBok0P
Additionally, the Patriots have a rookie quarterback. The odds that a rookie is suddenly going to turn into an Aaron Rodgers-type player and lead the team on an undefeated run to claim a playoff spot are more remote than Tom Hanks in Castaway. Even with Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels at the helm, the 2021 Patriots are already a sinking ship that's taken on too much water.
Belichick's signing of Jamie Collins was a last-ditch effort to save the season before succumbing to 1-4 and turning into draft mode. If the team falls to 1-4 the Patriots may get into "sell mode," where the team essentially calls it a season and opts to trade assets that other teams are willing to overpay for.
Some could argue that the trade of Stephon Gilmore was the first step of this garage sale. The Patriots may have figured that having him on the team for the remainder of his contract in a failing season was not worth keeping him around for. Moving him early and controlling his destination while getting a draft pick in the process made more sense.
In the end, the Patriots' fans may be panicking, but franchise higher-ups are being pragmatic. Unless New England suddenly explodes to a win on Sunday, expect more trades and glorified practice repetitions for Mac Jones as the team waits for 2022.