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Can Patriots’ injuries explain away the disaster of 2023? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
After the Patriots’ biblical run to start this century, there’s a fitting phrase to sum up 2023: “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Whether it’s the three-game stretch where they held the Colts, Giants and Chargers to 10 points or fewer and lost all three, the stirring win over the Steelers or their respectable start Sunday against the Chiefs, the team answers the bell every week even with the season cooked.
After 60 minutes, it becomes clear they just aren’t good enough. Their 3-11 record broadcasts that fact.
The question then becomes, why aren’t they good enough? How much blame lies with the roster Bill Belichick built? How much of it is traceable to injuries?
Will Belichick’s explanation for this season’s nosedive come down to “wouldas” and “couldas” were it not for all the guys that got hurt?
After Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs, Belichick pointed to injuries as the reason he seemingly raised the white flag with his offense in the fourth quarter, punting on fourth downs with time dwindling and while facing a 17-point deficit.
“At that point we had lost three starters,” he explained. “Worried about the pass protection. Worried about being able to execute in that situation. Felt like we were playing good defense. Get the ball back on a turnover, three-and-out, get the ball in better field position.”
They went into the game without Rhamondre Stevenson, Trent Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and have long been without Kendrick Bourne, Matthew Judon and Christian Gonzalez. They lost Hunter Henry, Cole Strange and backup left tackle Conor McDermott, who was in for Brown.
Belichick’s explanation after the game may sound similar to the one he’ll offer when making his case for finishing out his contract.
How would the season have gone if Strange and Mike Onwenu weren’t hurt at the start of the year? If Calvin Anderson and Riley…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-injuries-explain-away-disaster-192200378.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2023-12-18 19:22:00
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