The New England Patriots appeared to have their matchup with the Seattle Seahawks in hand, but Russell Wilson tossed a pair of late touchdowns to drop Bill Belichick's squad to 3-3.
For Pats blogger Tony Santorsa, it was another disappointing performance for a team usually among the league's elite. He panned his squad in a postgame recap over at Pats Pulpit, calling them "a middle of the road team":
I am going to make this very clear: I have no faith in the New England Patriots.
No, I'm not overrating. I have always thought that Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots had that "clutch-gene," despite losses those two Super Bowls against the New York Giants—but after Sunday's loss against the Seattle Seahawks, I do not believe that the Patriots have that "clutch-gene" anymore.
The argument that the 2012 edition of the Patriots are not a "clutch" team certainly appears to hold some water: they lost on a last-second field goal Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens, and missed a field goal of their own a week before against Arizona.
Tom Brady might have thrown for nearly 400 yards while throwing a career-high 58 passes, but what counted were two late interceptions that gave the Seahawks life. Meanwhile, the team only ran the ball 26 yards, causing Santorsa to accuse the Pats offense of having "no balance whatsoever". On the other side of the ball, Wilson might have stolen the show with his late efforts, but the issue for Pats fans was the horrendous play of their secondary for allowing several huge plays.
5. New England's secondary is awful
I think awful is an understatement if you ask me. Putrid? Yeah, that's a better word.
New England is tied atop the AFC East at 3-3 heading into a matchup with the New York Jets - also 3-3 - next weekend.