Patriots

“When you’re 0-2 the playoffs are usually tough. Only 31 of 270 teams that began a season 0-2 qualified for the postseason since 1990.”

The Patriots are 0-2 for the first time since 2001, and it appears much of the optimism surrounding the team’s performance against the Eagles has been lost.

In back-to-back games New England has failed to overcome the double-digit deficits they dug themselves into at Gillette Stadium.

It’s still early, but there have been plenty of warning signs that this season could end up being a rough one for the Patriots.

“Seems like they’re in trouble to me,” ESPN’s Mike Reiss said during an interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich. “You mentioned statistically, I’m going to pull up the numbers as we talk. I think the 17 game regular season helps them a little bit, but you’ve got two games on the road. This is the first time since 1975 that they’ve opened the season by losing their first two games of the season at (home).

“I don’t know if you guys talked about this on the numbers,” Reiss continued. “But when you’re 0-2 the playoffs are usually tough. Only 31 of 270 teams that began a season 0-2 qualified for the postseason since 1990.”

It’s too early to rule the Patriots out yet, Reiss said, pointing to last year’s Bengals as a team that made a playoff run after starting out 0-2 before beating the Jets in Week 3.

But, the Patriots haven’t shown much to indicate that they’re capable of making such a run.

“It’s not impossible,” Reiss said. “But to me it’s like you got to start playing better football if you even want to. You know what I mean? To even mention the playoffs right now seems a little silly.”

The Patriots are scheduled to play the Jets on the road this week. They’ve beaten the Jets 14 times in a row, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers is out with a season-ending injury.

How is Reiss feeling about the Patriots’ chances on Sunday?

“Not not great, Rich. Not great,” Reiss said. “And I think it comes back to just the line of scrimmage. You know, like the offensive line. It’s been an issue since the first day of training camp, and that’s your weakness against their strength. And I just think it’s going to be hard to score points.”

“And, you almost have to hope that they’re struggling to score points without Aaron Rodgers,” Reiss continued. “So maybe you hope that evens out. I think I saw something where they’re actually favored, which surprised me, to be honest with you, in terms of the betting, their early betting line.”