Patriots vs. Seahawks: What We Learned from New England's 24-23 Loss in Seattle

I am going to make this very clear: I have no faith in the New England Patriots.

No, I'm not overreacting. I have always thought that Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots had that "clutch-gene," despite losses those two Super Bowls against the New York Giants—but after Sunday's loss against the Seattle Seahawks, I do not believe that the Patriots have that "clutch-gene" anymore.

Following the 24-23 loss against the Seahawks, the Patriots now fall to 3-3 and are currently in a four-way tie in the AFC East.

With that being said, let's take a look at what I've learned following New England's 24-23 loss in Seattle.

1. The Patriots no longer have the clutch-gene—FACT, not opinion

I have already touched upon this, but I want to go into further detail.

The Patriots do not have the ability to close out games. They failed to do so against the Baltimore Ravens earlier this season, they failed to do so in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI and failed to do so against the Seahawks Sunday night.

In all of those games that I listed, the Patriots had multiple chances at closing out the game, but failed to do so.

For starters, the Patriots left points on the board prior to half-time as Tom Brady committed an intentional grounding penalty that enforced a 10-second runoff and ended the half with the Patriots on Seattle's three yard-line.

With the scoring being 17-10 at the half, New England was only able to muster just six points in the second half while Seattle racked up 14—all coming in the fourth quarter.

In the second half, out of New England's four drives, only two of them resulted in scoring drives. Two of them ended with costly Brady interceptions, with one deep in Seattle territory. The other three drives ended with punt and a turnover on downs with their final drive. The two drives that ended with a punt combined for 10 plays resulting in 28 yards that took only 3:59 off of the clock.

The Patriots simply couldn't close out the game, even though they had plenty of chances to do so.

2. New England's offense had no balance whatsoever

Granted, Seattle was the NFL's top defense and No. 3 run defense entering Sunday's game, but the Patriots top-rated offense wasn't able to establish a running game.

Brady threw the ball 58 times—a career high for him.

When your quarterback throws the ball 58 times, then I highly doubt you're in position to win the game.

The Patriots ran the ball just 26 times for only 87 yards with resulted in a pitiful 3.3 yards per-carry. More specifically, Stevan Ridley wasn't a factor as he ran for only 34 yards on 16 carries with his longest run going for six yards.

Following this one, I guess you could say that the NFL's top defense is simply better than the NFL's top offense.

Fact—not opinion.

3. The 2012 Seattle Seahawks remind me of the 2001 New England Patriots

You better believe it—the 2012 Seattle Seahawks are the real deal and I believe that they could be the best team in just about any division across the NFL.

Seattle, much like the 2001 Patriots, rely mostly on their defense as they have a rookie starter in Russell Wilson, similar to Tom Brady, as well as a stud-running back, much like Antowain Smith in 2001.

We've only went through six weeks of the NFL season, and it might be a little premature, but the Seahawks are definitely a force to be reckon with.

4. Russell Wilson reminds me of Tom Brady in 2001

I know, I know—I might be going out on a limb on this one, but hear me out.

Through Wilson's first six games as a starter, he has thrown for 1,108 yards as well as eight touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 62.5 percent of his passes and posting an 85.6 quarterback rating and winning four of those six games. As for Brady, he threw for 1,273 yards as well as 10 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 63.2 percent of his passes and posting a 91.4 quarterback rating while winning four of those six games.

How interesting is that? Stats don't lie.

5. New England's secondary is awful

I think awful is an understatement if you ask me.

Putrid? Yeah, that's a better word.

Seattle's top three receivers from Sunday's game, Sidney Rice, Doug Baldwin and Golden Tate, all had incredibly long receptions. Rice recorded one for 46, Baldwin one for 50 and Tate one for 51—that's a combined 147 yards.

So out of Wilson's 293 passing yards, 147 of them came on just three plays.

You can't win too many football games by giving up plays like that consistently.

Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung, Tavon Wilson and Kyle Arrington failed to prove anything to me today aside from the fact that they're a major liability.

6. The Patriots are a middle of the road team

At 3-3, it is what it is.

The Patriots are a middle of the road team.

Out of New England's six opponents this season, three of them currently have winning records and the Patriots lost to all three of those teams.

Let's face it, the Patriots are very mediocre right now.

They're 3-3 in the AFC East and are in a four-way tie.