Can the Patriots Bounce Back?

Can the Patriots bounce back? At the midway point in the 2020 NFL season, the New England Patriots have not had the season they had hoped for. Sitting at 2-5 and third place in the AFC East division, it appears that all hope may be lost for this year’s team. Injuries, COVID-19, and a lack of cap room have crippled the depth at certain positions, and it is starting to show. But amid a four-game losing streak, I will explain why I think the team can turn things around.

First, let’s examine the remaining games on the schedule. Over the next nine weeks, the Patriots play:

• @ New York Jets
• Baltimore Ravens
• @ Houston Texans
• Arizona Cardinals
• @ Los Angeles Chargers
• @ Los Angeles Rams
• @ Miami Dolphins
• Buffalo Bills
• New York Jets

Looking at that schedule, the team will face a lot of tough opponents. Five of the eight opponents currently are above .500 on the season. Fun fact: The average age of starting quarterback the Patriots play the remainder of the season is 23.5 years old. Now, before we dive into how I think the Patriots can turn their season around, at least to a positive standing, let’s look at some of the pluses and minuses from the first half of the season.

The good, I guess?

My apologies for the pessimistic tone here, but there hasn’t been that much good that has come from the Patriots this year. The quarterback play has been subpar, they have zero weapons currently at the receiver position, and the defense has been a shell of their former selves. Where there has been some good though has been from second-year running back Damien Harris. In just four games, Harris is only 20 yards shy of leading the team in rushing. Looking for his third 100-yard game of the season. Harris will look to make a splash as four of the next eight opponents rank in the top fifteen for rushing yards allowed.

The bad, the very bad.

Cam Newton is not looking like the Cam we have seen in years past. After starting the season off strong, Newton has not thrown a touchdown since week three. In contrast, that can be attributed to his lack of offensive weapons. However, something has to give for the ten-year veteran. The receiving core also needs to step it up when healthy. Out of the just three touchdown passes for the team this year, one has gone to a receiver. One name to continue to watch for, though, is Jakobi Meyers, who has stepped up tremendously during the past two weeks with ten catches for 118 yards.

So how can the Patriots bounce back?

The road to redemption starts this week with the 0-8 New York Jets; if they can get the win here, it could kick start a tidal wave of things for the Patriots. The Ravens will prove a challenge still as the Patriots have not produced a pass rush this year, and Lamar Jackson continues to make defenses pay. Over the next four games, the team could go 2-2 with wins over the Texans and Chargers, who are teams below .500 that haven’t been able to get things going. Then to round out the season, we finish up the division. I can honestly see the Patriots going 2-1 over those last three games for an ultimate finishing record of 7-9.

Of course, this is all speculation from me, I’m just a sportswriter. But as someone who has been a fan of this team for 24 years, I have learned that nothing is over for this team until it’s truly over. There is a lot of season remaining, and if the team can get things together, they can surprise a lot of people. We will see just to see which team shows up to the game on Sundays. So when you ask can the Patriots bounce back? I think so, but they have to make this dream a reality.