The Patriots were blown out in London to drop to 1-6 on the year.
Even though they are only seven games into the 2024 regular season, the New England Patriots can probably already kiss the NFL playoffs goodbye.
Following their 32-16 loss at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars, after all, they now find themselves with a 1-6 record. While the old “any given Sunday” saying proves itself true time and again in the world of pro football, the Patriots’ uphill battle for one of the seven playoff seeds seems to be too tough to overcome.
In fact, if they still qualified for the tournament they would become the first team in the 30-year salary cap era to recover from starting 1-6.
The chances of that happening seem slim given New England’s performances so far this year. The team started off as non-competitive on the offensive side of the ball, and recently added lackluster defensive play to the equation as well — a recipe for disaster and early elimination from the postseason picture.
Sunday’s loss was more of the same in that regard, even with New England jumping to a 10-0 lead. In the end, however, the team of head coach Jerod Mayo collapsed in spectacular and disappointing fashion.
Mayo’s boss, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, will therefore have to readjust the expectations he voiced back during the offseason.
“My hope and expectation is to make the playoffs,” Kraft told reporters at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando in March. “We have a new leadership team, we’re going have a lot of young players we don’t know. A lot can happen. We might struggle more than I want. But the good news … I really feel we have a good young team. I just hope we don’t struggle.”
Seven weeks into the season, struggle has been the name of the game for the Patriots. There does not appear to be a quick turnaround waiting over he horizon either.