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Sports

Patriots Lose Second in Row By Way of Deja Vu

The Patriots hosted the New York Giants and lost the game, their chance for Super Bowl revenge and perhaps lost their way. Is this who they are?

The Patriots game on Sunday against the New York Giants can easily be described as a "team loss." 

Most teams will say you lose and win as a team, but none more so than the Patriots game against the New York Giants.  It was a game that gave the Patriots a chance to rebound from a tough loss to the Steelers last week, and in a sense, gain some revenge on the Giants for ruining the Patriots hopes of a perfect season back in February 2008.  

The game didn't start out well for either team offensively.  In fact, th Patriots and Giants both played poorly in the first half.  The game was scoreless at halftime; tthe first time this has occurred so far in the 2011 NFL season.

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The second half was not much better for the Patriots and included fumbles, interceptions, a missed field goal and constant mental errors by the defense. The Patriots saw a quick 10 points put up by the Giants, and then battled back to tie it.  

The Patriots did take the lead eventually. The score was 17-13; eerily familiar to the Patriots and Giants score at the end of Super Bowl XLII.

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The similarities didn't end there. Deja vu took over in the fourth.  

Eli Manning went back to the same spot twice. The first time to take the lead, the second time to take the lead back for good after the Patriots had jumped ahead of them.

The spot? Left corner of the endzone. Sound familiar? If you watched Super Bowl XLII, it will make any Patriots fan upset and any Giants fan cheer.

Once more, Brady and the Patriots had a chance to comeback, as they did in Super Bowl XLII, but with little time on the clock.

Once more the Patriots did not do so and the clock ticked down to zero.  The mood in Gillette Stadium was anything but OK.  Stunned silence and a compliment of boos took the place of the usual cheers and Patriots chants as fans left Gillette.  Final score was 24-20, once more in favor of the Giants.

It's tough to watch a team, in the Patriots, that has had such a high level of dominance over the past decade, start to slide off the mountain of success they once had.

The Patriots have lost back to back games for the first time in a very long time. They also lost their first home game since 2008.

The logjam of teams with the same or near identical records continues to mount in the AFC.

The Patriots now look up at the Cinicnatti Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens, who stand at (6-2) and own the AFC's best records.

The Patriots are also looking up at the Houston Texans and the Steelers, who stand at (6-3)

The Patriots are now in a virtual three way tie in the AFC East with the Jets and Bills. All three teams stand at (5-3).

The Titans, Raiders, Chargers, and Chiefs all own (4-4) records. Simply put, 11 out of the 16 teams in the AFC are within two games of each other and the stage is set for a wild second half of an NFL season that already has many writers, players and fans scratching their heads.  

The Patriots have an enormous opportunity to rectify their recent struggles as they travel to New York next Sunday to take on their arch rival, the Jets.

The Bills will travel to Dallas and take on the Cowboys.

If the Bills lose and the Patriots can perform a season sweep against the Jets, they will take back sole possession of first in the East.  If not, expect an overflow of scenarios, panicked New England fans and most likely, calls for someone to be traded.  It's not fair, but it's life in New England if you're a part of the Patriots world; as a fan, as a writer or even as a player and coach.  

We have become so used to success in New England and the Boston sports market, that anything less than a Championship is deemed unacceptable.

The good thing about that last statement is that it's the same for Brady,  Belichick, and the entire New England Patriots organization.

However, the clock really has begun to tick away in New England in the Brady-Belichick era.  The time is now.  As Tom Brady said when he took over for the injured Drew Bledsoe back in 2001:

"I've always told myself if you ever get this opportunity, cause you never know how many you're gonna get, and when you do get your opportunity, you'd better be ready to take advantage, especially with how competitive this league is and how good every team you play is."

That statement still holds up over ten years later.  

The Patriots will take on the Jets in New York next Sunday in a battle for first in the East.  The game will be on Sunday Night Football on NBC.  Kickoff will be at 8:20 p.m.

For more information on the Patriots and the NFL, visit Patriots.com and NFL.com.

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