Telegraph photo by TOM KING A dejected Patriots receiver Phillip Dorsett talks to the media after Sunday's loss to Kansas City.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – There are no longer any mysteries with the New England Patriots.

As the saying goes, they are what they are. A good defensive team with a limited offense that can’t afford to fall behind, and can’t recover from bad officiating.

But, thanks to the weakness of the AFC, they’ll more than likely finish 13-3 and with the second seed once again in the AFC.

Yet, of course, it’s deceiving. One might argue that last year’s 11-5 team was better during the course of it’s regular season, despite the additional losses.

“We’ve just got to keep fighting, keep battling,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said on Monday during his contracted weekly WEEI radio interview. “It hasn’t been an easy season. That’s fine, that’s like every other year. Every season has it’s own unique challenges, and we have to learn from them. Our whole season’s ahead of us.”

That season will no doubt look brighter after a trip to Cincinnati on Sunday, but of course many thought it would have looked brighter after a game at Gillette on Sunday.

The Patriots went through their month-long gauntlet of varsity games with a 1-3 record, all three losses to the other AFC division leaders. That’s not a good sign, but it’s no mystery as to why it happened. Defensively they were dominant against weak teams and are above average against good teams – but literally have no margin for error.

“We trust our offense,” Patriots safety Duron Harmon said. “We know eventually they’ll get it going, and they got it going in the second half (on Sunday). Made a lot of plays. We just have to make sure we don’t give up touchdowns. … We’re all leaning on each other. They’re leaning on us, we’re leaning on them.”

That’s because the New England offense has a battered offensive line that is underperforming, lacks go-to receivers other than Julian Edelman, has no running game, and is severely limited in the red zone.

“I wish there was one magic thing we could do and that would change everything,” Brady said. “It really comes down to all of us, 11 as a unit, executing well, whether it’s a run or a pass.”

A telling sign that the Patriots lack confidence in their ability to move the football was their decision to head into the locker room Sunday with over a minute left in the first half and two time outs, rather than try to squeeze out at least a field goal. But even that part of their kicking game has suffered.

The timing for the schedule to get a bit softer is good. The Patriots enjoyed that soft landing last season and took it all the way to a Super Bowl. However, the sense of urgency is there.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve won,” Patriots safety Duron Harmon said. “We just need to win a game. … We always say around here the real season begins after Thanksgiving and we haven’t won a game since then yet.”

Offensively, the Patriots need a running game, and it has become more apparent that they feel James White gives them the best chance to move the chains – not Sony Michel, who once again started then disappeared. According to Patriots coach Bill Belichick on Monday, “That’s just how it’s gone.”

The Chiefs had been allowing over five yards a carry, but the Patriots couldn’t take full advantage of that, especially after falling behind 23-7, with just 94 yards on the ground.

Something has to change overall. Brady’s circle of trust appears to be down to two – White and Julian Edelman, a combined 19 targets on Sunday. The remaining eight players targeted combined for 16 targets – and just seven completions.

That included rookie receiver N’Keal Harry, who was involved in the touchdown/ruled not a touchdown on Sunday.

“N’Keal has made progress in every area,” Belichick said on Monday. “There’s a lot of ground for him to make up based on when he came back off of injured reserve in mid-season. He’s working hard at it, he’s improving, but as I said, he’s got a way to go.

“We’ll try to utilize our team and our players the best way we can based on all the circumstances that are involved in each and every game.”

Brady feels there is a fine line. But time is running out.

“It’s not revolutionary,” he said. “It’s one little play here, one little play that makes a big difference. If you can start getting those things, you get some momentum. That’s when you’ve got to take advantage, when you get some momentum.”

The Patriots have three weeks to get that momentum. Certainly nothing mysterious or complicated about that.

RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 13

AFC

1. Baltimore (11-2), 2. New England (10-3). 3. Kansas City (9-4). 4.Buffalo (9-4). 5. Tennessee (8-5).

NFC

1.San Francisco (11-2). 2.New Orleans (10-3) 4. Green Bay (10-3). 4.Seattle (10-3). 5.Minnesota (9-4).

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