The New England Patriots did not have their starting quarterback due to COVID. They had to play on the same day they traveled, thanks to the NFL. They had a touchdown taken off the board thanks to a terrible and early whistle by an official. And still they managed to battle late into the game against the Kansas City Chiefs, despite an ugly outing by back-up quarterback Brian Hoyer.

The defense had one of their best outings of the Bill Belichick era, holding a potent Chiefs offense to just 19 points. And if the officials allowed Patrick Mahomes' sack in the second quarter to play out as an interception, and Shilique Calhoun's touchdown stood; and if Brian Hoyer hadn't taken a sack before the half, or hadn't fumbled the football on the 10-yard line in the third quarter; and if the officials didn't call 33 yards of ticky-tacky penalties in favor of the Chiefs on a crucial fourth quarter drive, including a defensive pass interference call on third down; then maybe the Patriots would have held a 23-6 lead halfway through the fourth quarter.

But, alas, those are all ifs and the Patriots offense wasted an outstanding effort by Chase Winovich, Stephon Gilmore, and the whole New England defense.

And yet we feel hopeful! The Patriots have two competitive road losses to two of the best teams in the NFL. They've shown they can run the ball and pass the ball successfully, and that the defense can shut down the best offense in the league. Week 4 of the season is now in the books, which means that the Patriots have completed their preseason. The question is whether all the pieces can come together for the rest of the year.

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