Long and short of it...

I had written earlier that if the Pats played a clean game, they'd have a good shot at beating Kansas City at home in Arrowhead Stadium. Unfortunately, The Pats and Tom Brady in particular did not play a clean game, giving up 4 turn-overs on interceptions which K.C. twice converted into points.

Brady was off-target all day, with throws flying high of his receivers outstretched hands on several occasions, limiting the offense's effectiveness and sending Pats defense back out onto the field after too many quick 3 and outs.

In Brady's defense, a couple of his interceptions were balls that bounced off of his intended receivers and fell into the arms of a waiting defender. Unfortunately, that does not nullify the turnover or mean that the defense has to give the ball back.

If there was any bright spot in today's game, it was that the Patriots defense was able to hold K.C. to just a field goal after twice driving to inside the Patriots 5 yard line and once from inside the 15. If it were not for this, the game would have been a total blow-out before half-time. The defense actually rose to the occasion throughout the game and somehow managed to keep the Pats within striking distance all day.

The Pats offense showed some fortitude as well to claw back to within 10 points. There was a chance at a 4th quarter comeback but two Brady interceptions late in the game nullified the opportunity and The Pats fell short, 26-16. Damn.

That leaves the Pats at 6-5. With Buffalo losing today, they still hold the edge in the AFC East. Incredibly, next week will be December, with only 5 games remaining on the schedule. Where did this year's football season go? Time has really flown and it feels like this season has been a blur. It seems like it was only last week the leaves were changing and the air was just getting that crisp fall feeling. Of course then it started raining and didn't let up for like a month straight before it promptly began to snow. Maybe that's why it feels like we missed Fall, but I digress...

Here's what's ahead:

12/4 vs NJ Jets 4:15 PM
12/11 @ Buffalo Bills 1:00 PM
12/17 vs TB Bucs 1:30 PM
12/26 @ NJ Jets 9:00 PM
1/1 vs Miami Fish 1:00 PM

First on the list is The Jets. Despite The Jets horrendous record, don't put it past them to put up a good fight.

The Pats need to have laser focus for these upcoming games because a playoff shot is riding on the results. This is the start of the critical time in the Pats schedule. Thankfully we are playing two warm weather teams in the December months. This plays to our advantage. To win the AFC East Title, these are the 'must win' games.

GO PATS