Is There Any Chance The Patriots Could Still Make The Playoffs Despite 2-4 Start?
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots are not in a very good spot at the moment. Following a Week 6 loss to the Cowboys, New England is 2-4 on the season and winless at home.
It doesn't paint a very promising picture for the 2021 New England Patriots. There was some hope heading into the season that the team would be back in the postseason mix after missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years in 2020. But history is very much against New England's chances, even with an extra team now getting a postseason nod.
Following Sunday's loss, Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal tweeted about how often teams that started a season 2-4 have made the postseason over the last 30 years. And it's not good. Not good at all for the Patriots.
Of the 205 teams that have started 2-4 since the 1990 season, only 19 of them have made the playoffs, which is a tick under 11 percent. None of those teams went on to win a Super Bowl.
One of those 19 teams to make the playoffs despite a 2-4 start was the 2019 Tennessee Titans. That team even won a playoff game, beating the Patriots in the Wild Card round at Gillette Stadium. It was Tom Brady's final game in a New England uniform.
The playoffs were a rite of passage for the Patriots during Brady's 20-year run in New England. The team missed the postseason just twice since Brady took over at QB; in 2002 when they finished 9-7, and in 2008 when Brady was lost for the season in the first quarter of Week 1.
If the 2021 Patriots want any shot at postseason football, they're going to have to start winning games. They've been close every week this season, but good teams find ways to win while bad teams find ways to lose. Thus far, the Patriots have been doing the latter.
