Monday Night Football Mayhem

I watched a football game tonight that got me to thinking about dynasties and football. If there ever has been a dynasty in the current era of the National Football League, it would be the New England Patriots. The fans call this the Belichick era or the Brady era. You could always pencil in the Patriots for a playoff berth. And you could never count them out of a run for the Super Bowl.
Since Belichick arrived in New England in 2000, they have won all but two AFC East titles. They are third in Super Bowl appearances with 7. (The Steelers and the Cowboys have both appeared in 8)  From 2003 through 2012 they won 126 games, a league record for a decade. They have not had a losing season since 2000.
But tonight the Patriots looked very pedestrian while facing the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Tom Brady looked ordinary, throwing for just 159 yards on a 14 for 23 night with 1 TD and 2 interceptions. He also fumbled twice, losing 1. His QB rating was 59.9. The rushing game faired no better gaining just 75 yards on the ground against a banged up Chiefs defense. Shane Vereen was the leading ground gainer for the Patriots with 26 yards on 8 carries.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, completely dominated the Patriots on both sides of the ball. Had there not been a missed tackle by Marcus Cooper on Brandon LaFell's 44 yard TD reception, this would have been the Patriot's worst defeat since losing to the San Diego Chargers 41-17 in 2005.
A masterful performance by Alex Smith, game manager extrodinare, had the Chiefs up 27-0 before the Pats could score. Smith was 20 of 26 for 248 yards, 3 TDs and no interceptions. He had a 144.4 QB rating on the night.
Kansas City rushed for 207 yards. Knile Davis had 107 yards rushing for the Chiefs and although he didn't score, he had a 48 yard scamper to set up a KC touchdown. Jamal Charles, back from an ankle sprain, rushed for 92 yards and a TD and caught 3 passes for 2 more scores.
Kansas City had 303 yards of offense in the FIRST HALF! The most yards allowed in a half by a Bill Belichick team...EVER!
With the loss tonight and an early season loss to the Dolphins, the Patriots are 2-2. Admittedly they are not out of the running yet but they seemed old and slow this evening and with games against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills the next two weeks the schedule doesn't get any easier.

Read the ESPN story