On Sunday, the New England Patriots had to leave the field as losers for the third time this season following a 34-10 blowout loss against the Tennessee Titans. For the team, the defeat followed a familiar script not just because the contest — like the first two losses this season — was played on the road: the Patriots made some of the same errors that plagued them as they were beaten in weeks two and three.
Step 1: Start slowly
After their week three loss against the Detroit Lions, we dubbed the Patriots the “anti-Kansas City Chiefs” because as opposed to their AFC rivals they had stumbled out of the gates: one week after falling behind 14-0 and later 21-3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, New England was down 13-0 in the second quarter against the Lions.