The dreaded 0-2 start has returned to Foxboro…how will the Patriots respond?

Back in March, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters at the NFL Owners Meetings that "it’s very important to me that we make the playoffs, and that’s what I hope happens next year." After Sunday night, the historical odds are stacked against his team doing just that.

With their 24-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Tuesday night the Patriots fell to 0-2 on the season. It's the first time they haven't picked up a win in the first two weeks since 2001. Their 21-year streak of not starting 0-2 was the fourth-longest in NFL history.

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That 2001 was one of just 31 teams to make it to the playoffs after starting 0-2 since 1990. That's 31 of 270 teams - or 11.5 percent. Even with the expanded schedule and playoffs, it hasn't gotten any easier. Last year the Cincinnati Bengals started 0-2 and made the playoffs, making them the first team to do so since 2018. That Bengals team of course had tremendous talent and much more room for error than the average 0-2 team.

It's not that it's impossible to climb out of an 0-2 hole to make the playoffs. What these numbers really suggest is that 0-2 teams generally aren't playoff-caliber teams. The six teams that went winless through the first two weeks last year, besides the Bengals, finished the season with an average of 5.7 wins - more than five games under .500.

Now it's up to the Patriots to prove that they're an anomaly and not the norm. How are they going about approaching that?

"Gotta have better discipline all around. Discipline to finish," center and captain David Andrews said after the game, reflecting on the lose nature of and near come-from-behind efforts in the Patriots' two losses. "Can't beat ourselves. Turnovers again, penalties in crucial moments. Just gotta do a better job when it matters the most. And stop playing from behind."

Meanwhile, linebacker Matthew Judon opened up his press availability with a statement about where he sees the direction of the team going (players generally take questions from the beginning).

"I know we lost. I know it looks bad," Judon began, "but this is not a bad team. So don't get to asking those type of questions.

"I don't think we're about to hang our head up here or in the locker room. So when we come back on Monday, tomorrow, and we watch this film, we are going to get our corrections corrected and then we come back on Wednesday, it's not going to be 'oh, how y'all going to pull it together?' We already know how. We've got to just play how we played in the second half, from the first play [of the game]," he continued. "We can't wait until we down 17. We can't wait 'till we down 13 to try to make a comeback. It's too hard in this league. It's too hard in this league, people are too good, schemes are too good, you don't have enough time."

Quarterback Mac Jones was asked how the team will prevent these losses from creating a spiral. "I think about past experience and my rookie year when we didn't really start off too hot and then went on a really good winning streak. So, for me, that's all I can do, is look back on experiences I've already had in my life and hopefully the guys on the team can respond," he said. "Definitely got to play better and learn from it and, you know, be here early and leave late and do it together. I think that's the biggest thing. If a couple guys are doing it, it's not good enough, clearly. So we’ve got to put more into it and get more out of it."

Jones was optimistic these early Patriots struggles will help the team later if they can manage to gain back the ground they've lost. "I think in the long run, it's going to help us at some point during the season," he said. "Obviously it sucks. But, really, when you're close, you just have to do more. Weight room, film, practice. Like, everyone just has to do more."

The last time the Patriots started 0-2, they went on to win Super Bowl XXXVI. This 2023 Patriots team is hardly resembles that 2001 team right now. For starters, they don't have the greatest quarterback of all time waiting in the wings (despite what some lunatics on Twitter will tell you). But that team didn't look like a Super Bowl winner through two weeks either. Can this year's group write a similar script?

Read more...

Four-time All-Pro NFL Wide Receiver Chad Johnson - AKA Ochocinco - is best known for his 10 seasons as a star for the Cincinnati Bengals. Sunday night though he'll be in Foxborough for a matchup between the other two NFL teams he represented - the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins.

Johnson won't be in attendance as any other fan. Instead he's here working his post-NFL career, as a Ratings Adjustor. Johnson uses his football experience to work with the game's developers as they try to keep players' skills updated week-to-week.

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Prior to working with Madden, Johnson spent his final full NFL season with the Patriots, who acquired him in a trade just ahead of 2011 training camp for a fifth- and sixth-round pick. He ended up in a limited role, catching 15 passes for 276 yards and a touchdown in 16 regular season games. The Patriots made the playoffs that year, and Johnson had one catch for 21 yards in the postseason before the Patriots lost in Super Bowl XLVI to the New York Giants.

Not only did Johnson play with Tom Brady and for Bill Belichick, but he was also with the team during Bill O'Brien's first stint as offensive coordinator. Before Sunday night's game, he discussed his experience working with all three, as well as his time in New England and his new role with Madden. Here's a look at what he had to say - with the full audio version of the interview below to listen.

Alex Barth: "How does it feel to be back visiting a team you played for?"

Chad Johnson: "It feels good to be back. I'm happy to be here. I think I'll get a little bit more work done here this time than I did last time I was here. But obviously that experience, being in Foxborough, being under the tutelage of [Tom] Brady and [Bill] Belichick man was amazing. It was a really good experience and I think everybody in the world should be able to experience what it's like to play, for this regime."

AB: "Do you have a favorite Tom Brady story, either from being his teammate or playing against him?"

CJ: "Favorite Tom Brady story? When I was here, it was all business. I'm just being serious. It was all business that year. Obviously, that's the year we went to the Super Bowl and lost to the Giants. Outside of that, I don't really have any good Tom Brady stories outside of the fact that nobody ever got to see the real Tom Brady here in Boston until he went to Tampa. That is when he was able to relax, exhale and be himself. Does that make sense?"

AB: "Yeah, like you're talking about an away from the game kind of thing?"

CJ: "That, away from the game, and the social media presence, the jokes, the funny, just being - allowing the world to see a different side of him that he really didn't showcase here, if that makes sense."

AB: "You were here with Bill O'Brien, who's back..."

CJ: "Bill! F***ing love Bill. Is he here? That means he's going to be on the field then, right? "

AB: "He's the offensive coordinator now."

CJ: "I can't f***ing wait to see Bill. Bill was really cool. Really cool. I f***ing love him. Cursed a lot. Now, that was right up my alley. He cursed a lot. And that was right up my alley as far as coaching is concerned. And Coach Bill is one of those coaches that reminded me of my Little League coaches in Miami and the way they coach. They coach hard and and they respected more out of you. And that was, that was dope."

AB: "Fans are all excited about him turning the offense around after last year. What can you tell us about his offense especially like what he commands of a wide receiver?"

CJ: "I mean, obviously it commands a lot. And that year, and the years that he were here, you understand that it commands a lot because the receivers have always been very productive. I think during my time, and my tenure here, it was very short. It was short lived, obviously. And I think what I didn't get is, I didn't get the offseason program and I didn't get a chance to really integrate myself and submerge myself into the offense as much as I would have liked to be somewhat efficient, and so I could have given the Pats fans the old Chad that we were used to seeing and having fun and being very productive. But other than that, I still enjoyed it and understood what it took to be a part of this offense and be successful."

AB: "It's interesting you say that about the offseason program because - I don't know if you've seen what's going on with Juju Smith-Schuster. It's reported he's like out of the top rotation of pass catchers after he missed the spring with an injury. Can you relate to that and where maybe is he at at this point?"

CJ: "I'm not sure where he is. I don't really know what's going on that much as far as this organization concerned because I'm on the outside looking in. But I know it's difficult. Just as someone that got here late when the trade happened. Like, there's so much time that I missed that I really needed to build that chemistry and get that rapport with Brady. But I didn't have that."

AB: "How'd you get into working with Madden, and working on the ratings?"

CJ: "I think just the simple fact that I've been a gamer, I'm a huge gamer, I've been a huge advocate for Madden itself. I play the game, obviously, religiously at times. There were times where I would compete in tournaments with some of the pros, and so it just made sense. It just made sense. You know, with today's players, there's no better player that they can, they can relate to or gravitate to than myself. So it just - it was a perfect union for me to be in this position and explain to the players that are upset about their ratings, "I'll tell you the truth, I will tell you exactly why you are and you can't see I don't know the game of football because I actually played it at a very high level for a long time." So, I mean, it just it just made sense. Perfect, perfect marriage."

AB: "I have to ask you about one rating in particular, because Patriots fans were not happy when Rhamondre Stevenson got an 80 overall. How does he get that up?"

CJ: "I think he has to - consistency. It's pretty easy. Getting your rating up for any player, it all goes into being consistent. And not consistent week in and week out, but being consistent where you're facing your best opposition at that position."

AB: "What are you looking for tonight? Do you go in looking for anything in particular? Or is it just you're seeing what you see?"

CJ: "Tonight, I will be looking at some of the top players that played extremely well Week 1. More skill position too. Some of the players that played extremely well Week 1 and seeing if they continue that same level of consistency and production in Week 2."

AB: "Does that include Mac Jones?"

CJ: "That includes Mac Jones. Oh, yeah. That includes Mac."

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Alex Barth is a writer and 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. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.