This is not the start the post-Brady Patriots were supposed to have.
The team hasn't seen a 2-4 record in almost 20-years. Two games under .500 is something that is never expected for a team coached by Bill Belichick, never mind any team that has won its division eleven straight years, and 17 out of the last 19 years.
This could be just a bump in the road. considering there are still ten games left to play and plenty of time to right the ship. But, if they don't turn it around quickly the division title in 2020 may be out of reach before Thanksgiving football kicks-off.
Sure there have been signs of a division-winning caliber team through six games, but those have been too few and too far between.
Losing by only five points in Seattle in week-2 was a sign that this team could run with the big dogs of the NFL in 2020.
They again had eyebrows raising when they laid a beating to the Raiders in week-3 at Foxboro.
Even the 26-10 loss to the Chiefs in week-4 contained some signs that this team was on the right track, as the game was much closer than the final score.
But, losing to the injury-riddled rosters of the Broncos in week-6 and the 49'ers in week-7 has fans now wondering where the real Patriots went.
The 49'ers laid a beating on this Patriots team to the likes of which hasn't been seen in New England for a long time.
They better get things right and do it quickly because the road doesn't get any easier as the weather turns colder. Up next is the division-leading Bills in Buffalo.
The Bills have also seen their great start to the season run into hard times as of late.
After starting 4-0 they have lost two of their last three games, and that win was a close fought game against the league-worst New York Jets.
It may be a perfect time for the Patriots to have to travel to Buffalo, but the team we saw against the 49'ers last week won't have a chance for a "W" without a marked improvement in almost every aspect of the team.
Week-9 has the Patriots in New York to face the aforementioned lowly Jets. This game is certainly a must-win, since losing to this Jets team would be the low point that they could never mentally climb back from.
In week-10 the Ravens come to Foxboro, and if the Pats don't get back to their pre-bye-week selves they will take another beating like the one the 49'ers gave them in Foxboro.
Traveling to Houston in week-11 may not seem like a daunting task, but once again, it depends on which Patriots team gets off the the plane for this one.
The Texans have one win at this point, but the schedule they have faced may be a reason for their 1-6 record - @ Chiefs, vs Ravens, @ Steelers, vs Vikings, vs Jaguars, @ Titans, and @ Packers.
That's about as tough an opening seven games that you'll ever see, so nobody should sleep on this Texans team.
Week-12 has the Patriots at home against Kyler Murray and the Cardinals, followed by a trip out west to visit rookie phenom Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers.
When I look at the Patriots play as a whole, thru six games, I can see them going 1-5 over the next six games. I can also see them going 3-3 over those same six games.
Even 4-2 isn't out of the question, and beating the Jets and Bills these next 2-weeks will give them a fighting chance at the division crown and get them back to .500 with a 4-4 record.
Going 5-1 thru the next six games is highly unlikely - just as unlikely as them going 1-5, but as of now nobody is quite sure what we have here in 2020 as far as the quality of this Patriots team goes.
Only time will tell, but the one thing the Patriots don't have much of is time. They need to get the train back on the track and rolling in the right direction starting this week, or this season may turnout to be one of the likes in which hasn't been seen around here since 2000, Belichick's first season as the Patriots coach, and also Tom Brady's first year in the NFL.