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After a promising showing versus Pittsburgh last week, the Patriots found themselves back in the loss column on Sunday afternoon at the hands of the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
With the 27-17 defeat, New England now sits at 3-11 on its continually unwatchable 2023 campaign and finds itself right back in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Here are five immediate thoughts from Sunday's contest:
5 - It was a sea of red in Foxborough.
The Gillette Stadium stands were littered with red jerseys on Sunday afternoon, with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ No. 15 being the most popular one in sight.
Fans erupted in cheers as Kansas City’s squad entered the field for warmups prior to kickoff, and crowd even sang, “and the home of the Chiefs” to close out the National Anthem like they do at Arrowhead Stadium.
Maybe it was the unusually empty suite-level seats, or the fact that megastar Taylor Swift was in attendance for this one, but it really felt like a de facto home game for the Chiefs in Foxborough.
4 - What’s up with Chad Ryland?
The Patriots drafted kicker Chad Ryland in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and to say he’s had a rough go of it so far would be an understatement.
The rookie out of Maryland had made just 12 of his 18 field goal attempts through 14 weeks, including a game-losing shank against the Giants in Week 12 from just 35 yards out.
He missed another one on Sunday. A relative chip shot from 41.
New England traded veteran Nick Folk to the Titans prior to final roster cuts in August and handed the job to Ryland. While it wasn’t necessarily the wrong decision given that they spent draft capital on him and Folk is 39 years old and not getting any younger, it makes you wonder when Ryland will get himself on track in his young career, and if he even can.
3 - Barmore, Pats’ run defense continue to shine.
Allowing just 3.2 yards per carry heading into Sunday (a league high), the Patriots’ run defense continued their incredible trajectory on Sunday afternoon.
Outside of uncharacteristically allowing a 20-yard run to Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, New England allowed 23 yards on 19 carries and forced Kansas City to beat them with the pass (which they did).
Still, the stout run defense is a positive that they can build off of heading into 2024.
On top of that, defensive tackle Christian Barmore kept his career season going by tallying four tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, and two quarterback hits. He’s building quite the resume for himself heading into the final year of his rookie contract.
2 - More J.C. Jackson drama.
After playing 83% of their defensive snaps versus the Steelers last Thursday, cornerback J.C. Jackson mysteriously didn’t log a snap in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs.
Instead, he was replaced by rookie Alex Austin on the boundary for New England’s starting defense and, despite being active, wasn’t even spotted on the Patriots’ sideline during the game.
Jackson has had quite the downfall during his second stint in New England. After being traded back to the club earlier this season, the cornerback has been benched multiple times and was also sent home prior to the team’s trip to Germany due to “questions about his reliability”.
Clearly, those questions remain through Week 15.
1 - A tale of two halves for Bailey Zappe once again.
For the second week in a row, Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe came out flying in the first half and made it look like he belongs as an NFL quarterback.
Then, for the second week in a row, he looked like the quarterback that was cut after training camp in the second half.
Zappe was 17 of 19 passing for 141 yards and a touchdown during the first two frames, and had the Patriots down just 14-10 and within striking distance of the Chiefs.
Then, disaster once against struck. The quarterback went 6 of 12 in the second half for just 39 yards, and on his first pass attempt of the second half made a brutal decision, throwing an interception right into the chest of Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay.
The one decision Zappe likely made easier, however, is the inevitable change at signal caller the franchise will make this offseason.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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