Sunday night, the New England Patriots lost their first game of the season when they fell to the Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson. While the second-year starter out of Louisville may have drawn more attention for his play, many Patriots fans were far more focused on Tom Brady and New England’s offense.
Following this loss that dropped the Patriots to 8-1 on the season, the fans in New England, as well as some members of the media, have called for Bill Belichick to make a change. Specifically, they want the Patriots to bring Antonio Brown back into the fold despite releasing him before week three.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Facing a very fast Ravens defense, Brady only threw for 285 yards with one touchdown and a late interception. He also watched wide receiver Julian Edelman lose a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by Baltimore. Even with newly-added wide receiver Mohamed Sanu accounting for 10 receptions and an early touchdown, this offense just didn’t appear to be as in sync as previously expected.
Many fans believe that Brown would have been the best option for defeating this Ravens team on Sunday night, and he would have kept the Patriots on the path toward an undefeated season.
(Photo Credit: Mark Brown/Getty)
Imagine what Tom Brady would be doing if he still had Antonio Brown.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) November 4, 2019
Following the loss to the Baltimore Ravens, there were questions about what the Patriots could have done differently to avoid this outcome. For Skip Bayless, the co-host of Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, there is an easy answer. Tom Brady would have found success if Antonio Brown was on the roster.
To his point, Brown is one of the quickest receivers in the league, and he would potentially caused some frustrations for the Baltimore Ravens defensive backs. Despite being 31 years old, the former Patriots and Steelers wideout seems to be as quick as normal and already had chemistry with Brady. Would he have provided a difference on Sunday night? Bayless believes so.
@AB84 Please come back to the Patriots! We need your Godly Talent😭
— Drose🌹 (@NateDogg8712) November 4, 2019
Losing to the Baltimore Ravens was not a happy moment for fans of the New England Patriots. With this defense shutting down every single team, they expected to go undefeated in the regular season for the second time in franchise history. However, that wasn’t the case. This defense gave up big plays and allowed the ravens to score 30-plus points.
Would the game have played out differently if Antonio Brown had been on the roster? The defense would have likely struggled just as much, but the fans believe that Brady could have kept pace with Brown on the offense.
Last night is proof the Patriots and Tom Brady need @AB84 as much as AB needs them
— Wolly (@wollyishere4) November 4, 2019
The proof may not be in the pudding, as the old saying goes, but the fans see plenty of evidence that supports Antonio Brown returning to the roster. Specifically, they saw Tom Brady struggling on primetime despite having his top-two receivers account for 10 receptions each.
For these fans, there was ample evidence that Brown’s big-play ability was missing during this battle with another AFC heavyweight. Having him in the lineup would have provided the opportunity to attack the linebackers in the middle of the field and eat up chunks of yardage at a time.
The patriots should have never cut Brown or flash of traded D.T
— kirkaveli (@kmoney045) November 4, 2019
Should the New England Patriots have cut Antonio Brown? There are many fans on social media that believe the 31-year-old should still be on the roster. However, this isn’t the only move made by the team that they believe to be a mistake.
Specifically, the fans of the Patriots believe that there were three transactions made this season that hurt the offense. This team parted ways with three different wide receivers earlier this year for various reasons, and the fans believe that they were all mistakes.
It’s all a conspiracy by the @NFL to keep @AB84 out of New England. The league realizes AB would put the Patriots over the top (similar to KD to GSW) and make the league season boring. So they manufactured a story to get us to release him and once he’s gone, they get quiet.
— Alex Schenck (@merrilhess754) November 4, 2019
Is there a conspiracy afoot involving Antonio Brown? The fans certainly believe so. When the Patriots signed Brown in week one, there was a belief that this move would put the offense over the top and lead to a season similar to that in 2007 when the Patriots had Randy Moss. The game against the Miami Dolphins provided a brief glimpse of this as Brown caught an early touchdown, but that was his only score as a member of the team. He was released less than a week later amid allegations of sexual assault.
For many fans of the Patriots, these allegations were simply a story manufactured by the NFL to get rid of Brown. They believe that there aren’t any allegations and that this is all fake.
@AB84 and @RobGronkowski both need to be on the next plane to Foxboro. @Patriots need to make it happen
— Joe (@jshep1685) November 4, 2019
Is Antonio Brown the best person to fix a Patriots offense that struggled on Sunday night? The fans certainly believe so. However, he isn’t the only addition that they want this team to make in the coming days. The fans also want the Patriots to bring back a beloved tight end.
When Rob Gronkowski retired, he took away one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets, especially in the red zone. The big man accounted for 79 touchdowns in the regular season before departing the team, and the fans believe that he could provide even more to the roster, especially if Brown joins him on the roster.
Bruh the patriots need @AB84 more then ever he’s a game changer for are offenses that seems to be struggling compared to the last few years @TomBrady gotta take a stand for the patriots to sign AB back
— josh👑 (@jbest824) November 4, 2019
Sunday morning, news broke that the Seattle Seahawks had examined the possibility of signing Antonio Brown prior to claiming Josh Gordon on waivers. This was paired with news that quarterback Russell Wilson had pushed for his team to sign Brown and improve the offense.
For fans of the New England Patriots, they believe that Tom Brady needs to take a similar stance. They feel that this offense is in dire need of Brown, and they want Brady to put his foot down and convince Bill Belichick to bring the receiver back to town.
