We don’t mean to keep harping on our poor Patriots, but their contest this past Sunday with the Miami Dolphins has to rate as the most pathetic excuse for a professional football game we’ve ever seen in our lives — and we’ve been Pats’ fans since the 1960s, so we’ve witnessed quite a few sorry performances.
The Pats entered the game as the #31 offensive team in the NFL, exceeded in futility only by the Dolphins at #32 — and the game lived up to the low expectations of both teams, featuring a variety of miscues that normally you might see once in an NFL game, not multiple times.
In the first half alone, the Dolphins missed a mid-range field goal that bounced off the goal post, dribbled a snap back to the holder on another field goal attempt, snapped a ball over their quarterback’s head, and had a punt blocked.
The Patriots missed a short field goal, shanked a punt, allowed hapless veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissette to be hit countless times. and committed 12 penalties for 105 yards.
It was a performance by both teams not worthy of even a JV high school game — and fans paid hundreds of dollars for a ticket for that sorry demonstration. From the perspective of long-time Pats’ fans, we’d like to chalk it up to just a tough week, but it is clear that this will be a season that is only going to get worse.