For the Patriots, the theme song of the week should be Jay-Z’s “A Week Ago.”
In the 1998 song, the narrator laments that a week ago is when things were all good.
The Patriots can lament the exact same thing as a week ago they were coming off a 31-17 win over the Green Bay that saw their defense shut down All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packer offense.
Today, they are sitting at 7-3 following a pathetic 34-10 loss in Nashville to the Tennessee Titans that saw New England get thoroughly dominated in every phase of the game by an inferior opponent.
November is usually when the Patriots start firing on all cylinders but on Sunday in Music City the team, and quarterback Tom Brady, were tripping over their own feet both figuratively and literally.
Tom Brady : 21/41 for 254 yards & 1 catch for 6 yards pic.twitter.com/lXs1YlnA10
— Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life25) November 12, 2018
Considering how good the Pats have been at this point in the season in recent years, it is not hyperbole to say Sunday’s loss was the worst midseason defeat New England has suffered in recent memory.
Besides tripping over his own feet, Brady also had trouble throwing the ball as he completed just 51.2 percent of his passes and wound up with a passer rating of 70.6.
Brady didn’t throw an interception but he also didn’t throw a touchdown in the loss, leading some to question if Brady’s play had finally slipped.
In his weekly Westwood One interview, Brady responded to that. “Everything is different from one year to the next,” he said. “I think you keep working at it in the same way, and those things haven’t changed for me. I’m sure some of my statistics have changed, but I feel good out there. Do I want to play better? I absolutely want to play better. I want to play as best as I possibly can for my team. … Certainly [Sunday] was not a great performance.”
No, it certainly was not. And it may have been bad enough to know the Patriots out of the top tier of NFL teams.
But how do the power rankers from ESPN, NFL.com, and USA Today see it?
Find out in the latest edition of RealClearLife‘s Ultimate NFL Power Rankings, which combine ratings from those three outlets to get a single rank for all 32 teams in NFL and use segmented tiers to arrange them.
Also, for an even greater perspective on how the season has been progressing, check out how each team’s season average ranking compares with where they finished this week and last.
The Best of the Best (1.00-5.33)
No. 1.00, last 1.00, two weeks ago 3.00, season average 4.46: New Orleans Saints (ESPN, 1), (NFL.com, 1), (USA Today, 1)
No. 2.00, last 3.00, two weeks ago 3.00, season average 3.26: Kansas City Chiefs (ESPN, 2), (NFL.com, 2), (USA Today, 2)
No. 3.00, last 3.00, two weeks ago 1.00, season average 1.63: Los Angeles Rams (ESPN, 3), (NFL.com, 3), (USA Today, 3)
No. 4.33, last 5.00, two weeks ago 5.00, season average 8.39: Los Angeles Chargers (ESPN, 4), (NFL.com, 4), (USA Today, 5)
No. 5.00, last 6.66, two weeks ago 6.66, season average 9.39: Pittsburgh Steelers (ESPN, 5), (NFL.com, 6), (USA Today, 4)
The Best of the Rest (5.34-10.66)
No. 5.66, last 3.00, two weeks ago 3.00, season average 4.82: New England Patriots (ESPN, 6), (NFL.com, 5), (USA Today, 6)
No. 7.66, last 8.00, two weeks ago 8.33, season average 8.29: Minnesota Vikings (ESPN, 8), (NFL.com, 8), (USA Today, 7)
No. 8.00, last 10.33, two weeks ago 13.00, season average 12.89: Chicago Bears (ESPN, 7), (NFL.com, 9), (USA Today, 8)
No. 8.66, last 6.33, two weeks ago 6.66, season average 8.66: Carolina Panthers (ESPN, 9), (NFL.com, 7), (USA Today, 10)
No. 10.66, last 11.33, two weeks ago 15.00, season average 18.63: Houston Texans (ESPN, 10), (NFL.com, 10), (USA Today, 12)
So You’re Saying There’s a Chance (10.67-15.99)
No. 11.33, last 14.00, two weeks ago 9.66, season average 14.49: Washington Redskins (ESPN, 12), (NFL.com, 13), (USA Today, 9)
No. 11.66, last 14.33, two weeks ago 11.66, season average 11.09: Green Bay Packers (ESPN, 11), (NFL.com, 11), (USA Today, 13)
No. 13.00, last 19.00, two weeks ago 21.66, season average 18.66: Tennessee Titans (ESPN, 14), (NFL.com, 14), (USA Today, 11)
No. 15.00, last 17.00, two weeks ago 15.33, season average 19.83: Seattle Seahawks (ESPN, 15), (NFL.com, 15), (USA Today, 15)
Stuck in the Middle with You (16.00-21.32)
No. 16.00, last 14.00, two weeks ago 11.33, season average 11.73: Baltimore Ravens (ESPN, 16), (NFL.com, 12), (USA Today, 20)
No. 16.33, last 10.33, two weeks ago 11.00, season average 9.49: Philadelphia Eagles (ESPN, 13), (NFL.com, 19), (USA Today, 17)
No. 17.33, last 20.00, two weeks ago 18.66, season average 20.76: Dallas Cowboys (ESPN, 19), (NFL.com, 17), (USA Today, 16)
No. 17.33, last 12.66, two weeks ago 13.33, season average 12.49: Cincinnati Bengals (ESPN, 17), (NFL.com, 21), (USA Today, 14)
No. 17.66, last 13.00, two weeks ago 17.00, season average 14.96: Atlanta Falcons (ESPN, 18), (NFL.com, 16), (USA Today, 19)
No. 19.66, last 23.66, two weeks ago 23.66, season average 24.86: Indianapolis Colts (ESPN, 20), (NFL.com, 18), (USA Today, 21)
It’s Probably Not Your Year (21.33-26.65)
No. 21.66, last 25.33, two weeks ago 25.33, season average 22.82: Cleveland Browns (ESPN, 25), (NFL.com, 22), (USA Today, 18)
No. 22.00, last 19.33, two weeks ago 20.66, season average 18.06: Miami Dolphins (ESPN, 21), (NFL.com, 23), (USA Today, 22)
No. 23.33, last 23.33, two weeks ago 23.00, season average 21.29: Denver Broncos (ESPN, 23), (NFL.com, 20), (USA Today, 27)
No. 23.66, last 21.33, two weeks ago 21.33, season average 12.42: Jacksonville Jaguars (ESPN, 22), (NFL.com, 25), (USA Today, 24)
No. 25.00, last 24.33, two weeks ago 24.33, season average 19.69: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (ESPN, 26), (NFL.com, 26), (USA Today, 23)
No. 25.33, last 22.33, two weeks ago 19.00, season average 23.03: Detroit Lions (ESPN, 24), (NFL.com, 24), (USA Today, 28)
See You in 2019 (26.66-32.00)
No. 26.66, last 31.00, two weeks ago 29.33, season average 29.49: Buffalo Bills (ESPN, 27), (NFL.com, 28), (USA Today, 25)
No. 28.33, last 29.66, two weeks ago 28.66, season average 27.23: New York Giants (ESPN, 29), (NFL.com, 27), (USA Today, 29)
No. 28.33, last 26.33, two weeks ago 26.33, season average 25.73: New York Jets (ESPN, 28), (NFL.com, 31), (USA Today, 26)
No. 30.00, last 28.66, two weeks ago 29.00, season average 30.43: Arizona Cardinals (ESPN, 31), (NFL.com, 29), (USA Today, 30)
No. 30.33, last 28.66, two weeks ago 31.00, season average 28.16: San Francisco 49ers (ESPN, 30), (NFL.com, 30), (USA Today, 31)
No. 32.00, last 32.00, two weeks ago 32.00, season average 30.39: Oakland Raiders (ESPN, 32), (NFL.com, 32), (USA Today, 32)
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