Well, it is what it is. The New England Patriots lost to the New York football Giants in just about the worst way you could possibly lose a regular season game. The final score was close as I predicted, but New York came out on top, 24-20. Yes, there are games where the officiating is just atrocious, but to almost relive Superbowl 42 is nothing less than a nightmare for Patriots Nation. Its like the worst deja vu ever. With these two huge back to back regular season losses, the Pats see the number in their loss column creeping up, and many of the long winning streaks have come to an epic end. Those snapped streaks include Brady's 31 game winning streak at home, and the Pats 20 game regular season winning streak at home. Brady and Belichick are also stuck tied for most wins as a duo all-time at 116. Does all of this mean the season is headed down the drain, and that the Patriots dynasty days are finally over? Let's find out.

Mirroring the defensive schemes they used in Superbowl 42, the Giants were able to make Tom Brady look mortal for just enough time to escape Gillette Stadium with a very impressive victory. As most people expected, the pass rush got to Brady, but I think the offense did a good job when it counted and they surely did enough to help the team win the game. It is safe to say that Wes Welker is off his mini-slump, so that is also good news for the Pats offense going forward. In terms of the running game, the Patriots really came out with a good approach in the early going, but failed to control the possession of the ball down the stretch against the leagues worst run defense. They should have definitely mixed in some more run plays to open up the passing game, which would also allow them to be effective in play action.

At this point there really isn't much left to say about the defense. The best word to describe their entire defense as a whole is inconsistent. The coaching style is inconsistent, the play and execution is inconsistent, and I don't even know if I can say that the Patriots have a pass rush without making a fool out of myself. Like I previously mentioned, it is what it is, and I honestly don't know how they will go about improving their defense. They have went from doing enough to help win the game, to committing foolish penalties that lead to opposing game winning drives, and that dreadful Eli Manning fist pump.

Despite all of this, playoff spots are still up for grabs, as the Patriots remain tied for first place in the division. But if this continues, Pats fans won't see any action for their team in the playoffs. The only positive thing one can take from this game is that the Patriots aren't out of it until they mathematically can't make the playoffs. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being the underdog in the playoffs. The first goal of a team should be to make the playoffs. And as we all know, anything can happen after that. Why don't we just ask Aaron Rodgers and company to give us an example of such a situation.