New England Patriots drop in ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings

After two straight losses, the New England Patriots have dropped in ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings.

After three weeks, the New England Patriots are not where they would like to be. After a win in Week 1, the Patriots have lost two straight games for the first time since 2015.

One of the reasons why the Patriots have struggled so far this season is shockingly because of their offense. While the Patriots still have Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, they haven’t gotten enough production out of their wide receivers so far this season.

With the Julian Edelman suspended, the Patriots are certainly feeling his absence the last two games. In ESPN’s Week 4 NFL Power Rankings, the Patriots dropped after their loss to the Lions to sixth. Here’s what ESPN had to say.

"The Patriots rank 31st in receiving yards from WR (230). New England has just one catch this season that went for 30 yards, a 30-yard reception by TE Rob Gronkowski in Week 1. Is this bad start different from others? – Masi"

The drop from four to six in the rankings is certainly deserved after the disappointing performance in Detroit. While the loss on the road to the Jaguars was understandable, losing to the 0-2 Lions in the fashion that they did was not.

While we are still very early on in the season, starting 1-2 is not what the Patriots certainly drew up this offseason. As of now, the Patriots have the same record as both the Jets and the Bills in their own division. While pretty much everyone handed the AFC East to the Patriots, the Miami Dolphins are 3-0 and on top of the division.

In Week 4, the Patriots will get their chance to gain some ground on the Dolphins, as they will be hosting them at home. Hopefully for the Patriots, they will have the recently acquired Josh Gordon in the lineup. Even though the Patriots have dropped in the power rankings for the second straight week, they can certainly begin to turn things around with a win over the Dolphins.