Julian Edelman Didn't Sugarcoat Patriots' 'Embarrassing' Loss: 'Outcoached, Outplayered, Outefforted'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Julian Edelman had a tough time watching Saturday night's Patriots playoff loss to the Bills. And only part of that had to do with his promoted dip into the gambling world going awry.
The future Patriots Hall of Famer watched his former team look nothing like itself in a huge moment, as the Bills trounced the visiting Patriots 47-17.
As you might expect, Edelman's assessment of the game was not particularly rosy.
"First thing, lack of urgency, lack of energy. You go on the road against a team you played a few weeks before that you lost to, and you put out the effort that you saw, it just didn't look good, Edelman said on the latest episode of "Inside The NFL" on Paramount+. "You can't sit here and say it was one thing, it was this situation, it was a third down, it was ... They got outcoached, they got outplayered, they got outefforted. That was a disappointing and an embarrassing type loss for a football team. I don't care what anyone says, I don't care if it's a young team -- that's not a young team no more."
Part of what Edelman struggled with seeing was just how much the Patriots failed to meet the moment.
"One thing I know they hear for a fact: We want to be a tough, smart football team that performs under pressure. And to be a tough team, you need to stop the run, you need to be able to run the football, and you need to be able to cover kicks. And they couldn't do any of those things," he said. "It just it seemed like the team looked overwhelmed."
Still, Edelman spoke to the positives, including some expected physical development from Mac Jones, and the benefits that can come from learning in a loss like that one. There may indeed be some lessons learned that will help the Patriots next year and beyond, but that won't make the present any easier for them.
" I think they can build off of this," Edelman said, "but it's still going to be a miserable offseason anytime you get handed a game like that."
