Is this the darkest chapter in Patriots history post-Y2K?

The New England Patriots have had a really, really rough go of it since winning their sixth title in franchise history back in February 2019.

It’s important to start this article off with a major caveat: Nobody outside of the New England area — or Patriots Nation around the world — is feeling sorry for the New England Patriots these days.

That’s a sentiment that Patriots players themselves have echoed over recent years (including Tom Brady himself).

Whenever something doesn’t break New England’s way — whether it’s a bad call, an unfortunate injury, a poorly-timed development, or even a full series of bad luck like the Miami Miracle — the players are the first ones to make public comments that “no one is going to feel sorry for the Patriots.”

It’s a wise tactic to use. After all, people feel sorry for the Cleveland Browns, the Detroit Lions, the Buffalo Bills. Nobody ever sheds a tear when calamity befalls the New England Patriots, the Dallas Cowboys, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Generally-speaking, America is a nation that loves an underdog, despite the irony that America is itself now the world’s top dog — and has been for quite some time.

It’s actually sort of an interesting parallel with the Patriots themselves, who once were the plucky underdog and perennial David going up against Goliath, but who now clearly occupy the top of Mount Olympus and have done so for 20 years.

All of this being said and acknowledged, it’s been a really, really, really rough year for Patriots fans.

Yes, nobody’s going to sympathize or empathize, and yes, we still have six shiny Lombardi Trophies to catch our tears.

But when you add it all up, there’s no denying just how brutal of a gut punch the period of time from March 2019 to March 2020 has been for this franchise.

Let’s hit all the major points (bold points are the biggest blows, so to speak):

• Rob Gronkowski, the greatest non-Tom Brady offensive player in franchise history and arguably the greatest tight end in NFL history, shocks the world and his team by announcing a surprise early retirement after just nine seasons in the pros
• A massive exodus of coaches and staffers leave the Patriots ranks during the offseason, including Brian Flores, Josh Boyce, Chad O’Shea, Brendan Daly, and almost Nick Caserio
• Patriots lose several important players in free agency, including Trey Flowers, Trent Brown, Chris Hogan, Cordarrelle Patterson, Malcom Brown, and LaAdrian Waddle
• Stephen Gostkowski struggles early on in the season before ending up on IR; the team flounders trying to find his replacement in Mike Nugent, Kai Forbath, etc. before settling on Nick Folk
• The team struggles to find a tight end, sifting through the likes of Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Lance Kendricks, Eric Tomlinson, and others before settling on the ineffective trio of Ben Watson, Matt LaCosse, and Ryan Izzo for most of the year
• Antonio Brown gets signed by the team and creates an enormous buzz of expectation and hype, only to get embroiled in further controversy — which eventually leads to his outright release from the team after just one memorable game in a Patriots uniform (and now he’s seeking financial damages from New England for earnings lost, to boot)
• The team struggles to integrate Michael Bennett on the defensive line, eventually leading to Bennett becoming disgruntled and getting traded to Dallas
• Patriots trade Jacob Hollister to Seattle, only to watch their former tight end thrive with the Seahawks and Russell Wilson
• First-round draft pick N’Keal Harry tweaks his ankle during the offseason, re-injures it in the preseason, and spends over half the season on IR
• Mohamed Sanu, acquired midseason via trade, hurts his ankle as well and is ineffective from that point forward as a pass-catcher (he now requires offseason surgery to repair it)
• Left tackle Isaiah Wynn misses the first half of the season with a turf toe injury
• Julian Edelman battles a litany of injuries all season long — although he still manages to put together a terrific season, which is obviously a positive
• Josh Gordon ends up on IR with a knee injury, gets released by the team, signs with the Seahawks, then promptly gets suspended for the 999th time for substance abuse issues
• Sony Michel mysteriously underwhelms for the vast majority of his second season despite being relatively healthy for the first time in his professional career
• Tom Brady grows frustrated with the lack of experience and know-how amongst his subpar receiving cast throughout the season, and the offense as a whole struggles
• New England gets embroiled in yet another controversy and scandal: Spygate 2.0
• The Patriots go just 4-4 the second half of the season (their worst mark in years) despite starting the season off a perfect 8-0
• New England loses at home to the 4-11 Miami Dolphins in Week 17, dropping the Patriots’ seed from No. 2 to No. 3 and costing them a first-round bye
• The Patriots lose at home in the Wild Card round — for the first time in a decade — to Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans
• Joe Thuney, Ted Karras, Phillip Dorsett, Jamie Collins, Kyle Van Noy, Danny Shelton, Devin McCourty, and others could also leave the Patriots in free agency
• Tom Brady is on track to become a free agent for the first time in his Hall of Fame career, and there’s a very good chance he could leave in a couple weeks

All in all, it was kind of a depressing year.

It’s hard to remember that there was a time not so very long ago when talk of another perfect regular season in New England was both real and substantiated based off a mound of evidence.

The defense played lights-out for most of the year, despite choosing the worst times to show cracks in the armor (Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Tennessee). Even the offense briefly looked unstoppable at the beginning of the year, particularly in Weeks 1-3.

Will 2020 represent a return to form for the NFL’s preeminent franchise? Or is the dynasty truly crumbling right before our eyes, paving the way for another “dark ages” of sorts for the Patriots?

Stay tuned.