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          New England Patriots

          One year later, revisiting Patriots loss at Chiefs as turning point

          Last season at Kansas City, Tom Brady posted a Total QBR of 22.2, his third lowest on the road since 2006. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
          • Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterSep 29, 2015, 02:00 PM
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              Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
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          FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- One year ago today, the New England Patriots were crushed by the Kansas City Chiefs 41-14 on ESPN's Monday Night Football. The team dropped to 2-2, and media coverage of the Patriots' demise and quarterback Tom Brady's decline, intensified.

          Some of the talking points at the time:

          • The 41 points allowed were tied for the most given up by a Bill Belichick-led Patriots team (since 2000).

          • The 27-point loss was the second-largest for the Patriots under Belichick.

          • Had the Patriots surrounded Brady with enough talent?

          • Brady posted a Total QBR of 22.2, his third lowest on the road since ESPN Stats & Information began tracking the information in 2006.

          • Brady was completing just 32 percent of his passes thrown more than 10 yards downfield. That was the worst rate in the NFL among the quarterbacks who started every game until that point.

          Behind the scenes, however, Belichick actually felt the second half of that game was the start of the team's turnaround. He liked the way the team competed given the dynamics in play.

          And we all know what unfolded from there, the Patriots going on to win the Super Bowl in dramatic fashion.

          Since that time, here are some of the other key points (via ESPN Stats & Information) that reflect how that game began the Patriots' turnaround:

          • No team has a better record in the NFL (16-2, including playoffs). One of those losses came in the 2014 finale when the Patriots had already clinched a top seed and rested many key players.

          • Including playoffs, no quarterback in the NFL has a higher Total QBR (80.9) than Brady.

          • No quarterback has more touchdown passes (48).

          • No team has averaged more points per game (34.2), as the Patriots have scored 30 or more 11 times in that span, most in the NFL. They have scored 40 or more eight times in that span, again a top NFL mark.

          • Including playoffs, they have outscored opponents by 260 points. For perspective, the Jaguars and Buccaneers haven't scored 260 points in their 15 games over that span.

          • Tight end Rob Gronkowski has 101 receptions since the loss to the Chiefs (16 more than the next-highest tight end), 1,489 receiving yards (424 more than the next-highest tight end), 16 receiving touchdowns (the only tight end in double digits over that span) and 161 targets (fifth among all players).