Robert Kraft Admits He Was Worried About Patriots After Loss In Kansas City
BOSTON (CBS) - September 29, 2014 is a night that Patriots fans would like to permanently forget.
The team entered a Monday Night Football game in Kansas City at 2-1 and exited 2-2, in what was the team's most embarrassing loss in years. The Chiefs thoroughly outclassed the Patriots in a 41-14 romp.
New England hadn't looked good up until that point in the season, and after the blowout the sky in the region was literally on the verge of falling.
The team has since righted the ship, entering the bye week having won five straight games, but there was certainly reason to be concerned after the Monday night shellacking -- owner Robert Kraft said as much in a radio interview Thursday afternoon.
"It might be the worst beating that I've had as an owner, and definitely in the Belichick era it was the worst [loss] in 15 years," Kraft told Sirius XM's Stephen A. Smith.
"I know all the sages in the media were calling for us to trade [Brady], or sit him, and Belichick had lost it -- but maybe in a way it was a good thing because it just shook us up. In moments of crisis you either rise to great things or your crumble. And our guys came together. We have a great group of guys in the locker room. They really rallied."
It turns out the rumors of the Patriots' demise were greatly exaggerated, but things certainly looked shaky.
"I was definitely worried, because you don't know -- and remember this isn't a game of robots. First of all you have the physical well-being of your players. Sometimes it's a physical game, and sometimes guys are hurting. The great thing about the sport of football is it truly is a team game. You could be the greatest quarterback in the world, and if you don't have a good offensive line, or receivers, or don't have a defense that can get you the ball back . . . it's a total team effort."
Like the rest of us, Kraft is just happy to see his team playing the way we've come to expect of them.
"When you have probably a third to 40-percent of your roster as turnover, you don't know if the mental toughness is there. I'm just happy it came back. The last five games have been outstanding."
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