There are a lot of big takeaways from the Patriots' disappointing loss to the Bills last Sunday, which means several things need to be improved if they want a real chance at stealing a win in Baltimore this weekend.
While there are plenty of excuses to be made about what led to their 21-point lead quickly crumbling, none will change the facts of what happened: the Patriots had their chance to win and become the AFC East Champions, but couldn't follow through on a nearly impeccable first half to put the game away.
That has prompted some legendary players, like Julian Edelman, to have brutal reactions to what went down in Week 15, and although it's hard to argue what he's saying isn't true, it doesn't make it any easier to hear.
The only hope is that the team will take this as a lesson, and maybe even Edelman's words as a challenge, as they look to secure a playoff berth against a rebounding Ravens team.
Julian Edelman says what Patriots fans don't want to hear about their big-time loss to the Bills
While recapping the Patriots' loss on his podcast "Games With Names" earlier this week, Edelman had some tough words to describe just how bad his former team looked in the biggest game of the season, even noting that maybe the moment was too big for the young roster.
He even shut down some immediate excuses for the way things unraveled, sending a brutal truth to fans that they can't really respond to.
“I think my ultimate reaction was Josh Allen’s MVP. Two, the Patriots may have needed to have this loss going into this back-end of the season. Three, the game seemed a little too bright at the end [for the Patriots].
You definitely saw how deficient the defense was for the Patriots without Milton Williams in a got-to-have-it-type games. They were undermanned, but so were the Buffalo Bills. So is everyone else.”
It's certainly not great to hear that Josh Allen looks like an MVP against the Patriots, especially since he hasn't been involved in that conversation nearly as much as Drake Maye or Matthew Stafford. So, for starters, it's rough to hear.
But beyond that, he dropped the biggest truth bomb about any excuses regarding some superstar players missing time, since the Bills were also down a few of their top players, too.
Making his take even more brutal was his way of shutting down their 10-game win streak because they weren't able to prove they're the real deal against one of their tougher opponents in the biggest game of the season, but he noted they are a young team and still have plenty to learn.
“This could help them, to show like, no, 10-game winning streaks aren’t real, After you start winning like that, you have to continue to play good football.
Great lesson to learn, but they’ve got to pick it up, because they’ve got to go out and beat Baltimore now. This is a young football team. They don’t know how to finish games yet.”
The idea of a loss helping the rest of the team is exactly what Stefon Diggs said about the game, too, so it seems they are on the same page with Edelman about how to handle and overcome their latest struggle.
They have a lot to prove in primetime against the Ravens this Sunday, and considering the division is still open, it would be great if they could show they are the legitimate threat they looked like for 10 straight games.