Photo by The Associated Press Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has a look of disgust duirng the Patriots' 34-10 loss at the hands of the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Imagine having the worst work day of the month right before you were supposed to take some time off.

That’s what happened to the New England Patriots this past Sunday. Any extra time off other than perhaps a weekend they may have been looking forward to is likely out the window, floating around in Nashville somewhere.

To be sure, the Patriots laid a huge egg against a Tennessee Titan team that simply was too pumped up to be denied. The Titans owned both sides of the line the of scrimmage, believed in head coach Mike Vrabel’s game plan, and reminded us that these Patriots aren’t really on the same level right now as their Super Bowl predecessors.

Still, it’s amazing that Tennessee was able to score enough points to flat out embarrass New England.

As Tom Brady said afterward, “If you don’t stay on the field, it’s hard to score points.”

What happened? Tennessee rushed Brady up the middle, had good secondary coverage, and the Titans were able to run the ball. That’s huge when your quarterback is Marcus Mariota, who hasn’t exactly burned up NFL secondaries.

But this was another example of the Patriots lacking some of the depth they once had. They were missing guard Shaq Mason, whom they just inked to a long term deal. Left tackle Trent Brown was in and out of the lineup with an illness, and Marcus Cannon also left at one point. Rob Gronkowski, who may never be at full strength this season, was a nice sideline ornament in civilian clothes. Any talk that the Patriots don’t need him to be fully effective on offense could be scoffed at after what you saw on Sunday.

When you play a team that is beefy, you better bring your own beef to match it. The Patriots didn’t have it.

A defense that hadn’t finished patting itself on the back for holding the great Aaron Rodgers to 17 points the previous week was simply not engaged in this one. Flat, not intense.

As Brady has said over and over, and repeated after Sunday’s debacle, “It’s hard to win in the NFL.”

And the Patriots made it even harder on themselves. They will be hard pressed to catch the high-flying Kansas City Chiefs, although the Chiefs looked somewhat mortal at home against Arizona. The difference was, the Chiefs woke up in time.

The Patriots will be enjoying their Thanksgiving turkey before they take the field again. But two weeks from now they will again look like world beaters, or at least they had better, because the New York Jets have checked out for the season as their coach, Todd Bowles, will be told to do on Dec. 30 after coming to Foxborough with his team – if he’s still around.

See, Patriots fans, it could be worse.

The alarming part is New England is 2-3 on the road, and they may have to play one or two road playoff games if other teams keep winning. Pittsburgh is good enough now it doesn’t even need Le’Veon Bell, and the L.A. Chargers – yes, “San Diego” was originally typed and deleted – are playing better than anyone right now, albeit against weak competition.

Yes, there is actually competition in the AFC for the Patriots, although none of it is from the AFC East.

The Patriots need their health, especially up front. The weakness of the offensive line with players filling in was obvious on Sunday. Overall, they aren’t explosive offensively, and how they approach the final six weeks of the season will be interesting, to say the least.

Bill Belichick gave his players Monday off – kind of a collective adult time out, right? They will likel be put through the ringer the remainder of the week.

Two weeks from now, you will be feeling differently. All will be fine, as the schedule helps the Patriots out.

It’s how everyone feels two months from now that is very much up in the air.

“We have so much more potential than we’ve shown,” running back James White said in an interview on the Boston radio airwaves on Monday. “We just have to find a way to live up to that potential.”

But right now, the level of that potential is up for debate as the Patriots ponder that themselves with their time off.

WEEK 11 POWER RANKINGS

AFC

1. Kansas City (9-1) 2. Pittsburgh (6-2-1). 3. New England (7-3). 4. L.A. Chargers (7-2). 5. Houston (6-3).

NFC

1.New Orleans (8-1). 2. L.A. Rams (9-1). 3. Minnesota (5-3-1). 4. Washington (6-3). 5.Chicago (6-3).

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