Patriots among the league’s worst in USA TODAY’s power rankings
The New England Patriots are in free fall with a 1-2 record and a loss to the New Orleans Saints, according to USA TODAY writer Nate Davis’ power rankings. The Patriots fell to 23rd in the power rankings after Week 3. New England ranked 20th after Week 2.
The Patriots are sitting in a range of the rankings where their company is not pretty: a disappointing Washington Football Team, a woefully under coached Philadelphia Eagles, the injury-riddled Indianapolis Colts and the rebuilding Detroit Lions. So what does that make the Patriots? Well, they’re clearly rebuilding. But after all that spending in free agency, New England seemed poised to be relevant in 2021. That now seems like an overly optimistic view.
Here’s what Davis wrote about New England:
“They’re 0-2 at home for the first time since Bill Belichick took over in 2000 … and staring down the barrel of 0-3 with prodigal son TB12 on his way back to Foxborough.”
It’s likely the Patriots lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by double digits on Sunday. At that point, New England would be 1-3. The only good news is that there is a path to .500 with impending matchups with the Houston Texans, the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Jets, the Los Angeles Chargers and the Carolina Panthers. The Patriots could log wins over the Texans, Jets and Panthers, which would land them at 4-4.
Maybe — just maybe — New England can get hot, with their rookie quarterback Mac Jones needing to come a long way in a short period of time. He’ll need more help than he’s getting.
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