After this past week, I was hoping for something to lighten my mood.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t turn to the one thing that remains constant: New England Patriots Football and its continuous winning franchise.
The Patriots bye week proved to be ineffective judging by the 31-24 score, making this the second loss for the Pats this season.
With a bye week, it was expected that this team would have been better prepared, especially against a team such as the Seattle Seahawks.
This Super Bowl XLIX rematch was a suspenseful one, and each possession posed a new threat for both the offense and defense.
Seattle’s defense is a factor that may present the biggest issue in the effort and hope of achieving a Super Bowl LI win in February.
Defense, offensive deficiencies and even field goals played an optimal role in the Pats second loss of the season.
First Quarter
Running back James White caught the first toss of the game, for a 13-yard gain from Tom Brady in a beautiful connection between White and his quarterback.
New England then took an early lead after a one-yard rushing touchdown from running back (RB) LeGarrette Blount. Blount now leads the team in rushing yards at 609.
Brady commended White’s efforts and said that he is a kid who tries to do everything right.
The Pats led Seattle 7-6 at the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter
The second quarter began with a shift of momentum when the Seahawks struck first, making it a 12-7 game.
Quarterback Russell Wilson connected with Doug Baldwin for a 6-yard touchdown, but the Seahawks would not go on to receive the extra point.
The Pats reciprocated when Blount rushed for his second touchdown of the game, making it a 14-12 ball game.
Kicker Stephen Gostkowski proved himself worthy of the New England love again after he made each one of his field goals on Sunday.
The back and forth style of this game began early and continued throughout the entire game.
The Seahawks bounced back when Wilson found Baldwin once again for another touchdown, making it a five point game.
Seattle led the Pats 19-14 at halftime.
Third Quarter
New England laid the hammer down quickly in the third quarter when Blount racked up his third touchdown of the game.
Seattle would only gain three more points from a field goal, and the Pats ended the third quarter on a good note when Brady found Julian Edelman downfield for possibly the best looking catch all game.
Fourth Quarter
The Pats started the quarter 22-21 and down by one point.
New England pulled away 24-22 off of a 30-yard field goal from Gostkowski.
The Pats would not score again after that and finished the game down 31-24.
The fourth quarter is where the demise of the game mostly lies.
The Pats had a chance to tie the score up at 31 with less than a minute left, the ball being on the two-yard line.
On third and goal, Brady fumbled the ball and dove on it, but it wasn’t enough.
There was poor ball handling and the execution was nonexistent, and the fourth quarter epitomized the sloppy ball playing of the entire game.
Overall
The execution throughout the entire game was not up to par with a franchise as strong as the Seattle Seahawks.
Turnovers don’t win games, especially not against a team looking for some sort of revenge on the Patriots.
The Seattle offense was clicking and delivering while the Pats’ offense looked sloppy and unprepared.
I don’t want to lose faith in my team’s ability for the chance at another Super Bowl win, despite the loss and the obvious improvements that must be made, but the Patriots still remain on top of the American Football Conference East.
Mary Curtin can be contacted at Mcurtin@kscequinox.com