Tom Brady laments Patriots’ inconsistency: ‘We have yet to put together a 60-minute game’
Tom Brady of the New England Patriots runs off the field at the conclusion of a 17-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
By Matt Dolloff, 985TheSportsHub.com
The Patriots had a tough loss on Sunday. And as you might expect, it came with some tough reflections.
Tom Brady shed some light on the atmosphere at Gillette Stadium after the Patriots lost their second straight game to the Steelers on Sunday, 17-10. The defeat leaves the Patriots hoping for a Texans loss to reclaim the No. 2 seed in the AFC before the playoffs, and they haven’t even clinched a playoff spot yet.
Brady told Westwood One’s Jim Gray in his weekly Monday night interview that the loss to the Steelers left a sting with the team that led to moments the players and coaches would rather not experience. The Patriots are 9-5 and still solidly in the mix in the AFC, but certainly haven’t shown the kind of consistency that fans are used to seeing.
“The best part about the NFL – and sometimes the worst part – is it’s a week-to-week league,” said Brady. “Nothing you do the previous week carries over to the next week. Learning from your mistakes is extremely important. I’d say we learned from [Sunday]. Hopefully, guys took it to heart. There were some pretty tough conversations and tough coaching, which is deserved by us players. Ultimately, we didn’t execute well enough to get the job done. When you don’t do your job the way you’re capable, this is when you’ve got to dig deep, and rely on other players to pick you up when you’re down, or when your confidence is down a little bit.”
Brady continued by repeating a familiar refrain from this year’s Patriots: they simply need to be better. And he admitted one of the hardest truths of the 2018 season, that especially on offense the Patriots haven’t quite put together a complete game.
“We have a lot of mentally tough guys,” said Brady. “We have a strong character in our locker room. Ultimately, we’re just going to have to play better. You can talk about it until your blue in your face, but we have to go do it.
“We have yet to put together a 60-minute game, and that’s still out there for us. We still have goals to reach.”
The frustrating part is that the Patriots’ issues this season haven’t felt like isolated week-to-week incidents. The road woes (especially for the offense) carried over for the entire season. For them, the hope is that the tough coaching gets through to them in time for the first playoff game – which could very well be on Wild Card weekend.
Listen to Brady’s full interview with Jim Gray below:
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff or email him at matthew.dolloff@bbgi.com.
