The lack of respect, the lack of fight, the lack of loyalty is all Jacksonville worthy.

But this is New England. We aren’t the Jaguars.

Yet here the Patriots sit, 10-3, atop the AFC East, per usual, and the “abandon ship” call dominates the airwaves and at coffee counters all across out region.

Somehow, someway, the crazed “hooligans” who once filled Schaefer/Sullivan/Foxboro Stadium and watched mediocre 1980s teams in a less than mediocre AFC, have grown into apathetic football elitists.

How else do you explain the second half against Kansas City on Sunday? All the pieces were in place for something special.

Patrick Mahomes was “hurt,” or maybe he was just making multiple trips to the mens room. And his KC mates were stuck in the mud, just looking to hand one away.

The Pats were a Jerome Boger blunder or two away from rattling cages from Baltimore to San Francisco with a comeback of legend.

All the while you could have lobbed water balloons into sections of the luxury level suites without so much as splashing anyone.

They booed the Pats out of the stadium at halftime and never returned. It was sparse, at best.

The lack of belief has carried over into the week. Friends have reached out. This football team, with two cupcakes and a fraudulent Bills team left on the schedule, is all but a lock for at least the No. 2 seed, and people in these parts are making plans for Florida trips in January and the Bahamas on the first weekend in February.

When did we stop fighting in these parts?

The Patriots certainly haven’t.

Do we have to be the lock of all locks for people to actually engage and be positive?

Lamar Jackson is already showing wear-and-tear. Mahomes was held under 60 yards passing in the second half. And the Texans aren’t even going to win the AFC South, Tennessee is.

The time has come to embrace the fact that New England is on its way to a 12-or-13-win season, despite the fact that a declining Tom Brady is playing with an inferior offensive line and no receivers other than Julian Edelman.

Fight isn’t the word to describe these guys. To paraphrase the Billy Bean character in “Money Ball,” it’s more than just the fact they want to win. They hate losing. And that may be Brady’s greatest attribute, his legacy.

That comes from him. Pay close attention, not just Sunday in Cincinnati. Something special could be brewing.

It’s time to adjust, just like the team has, and battle.

ODDS AND ENDS

The lack of fanfare from Yankees fans, and vitriol from the rest of us, was pretty darn telling this week as the Pinstripers broke their piggy bank to hand Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole $324 million.

Like Chief Carlon at the end of the movie, “Fletch,” baseball may not be dead, but it’s extremely sleepy. …

Speaking of the Yanks, they are making it tough for me to pick a side in their grievance for the last $26 million they’re looking to take back from failed free-agent signee and utterly fragile Jacoby Ellsbury. Most of the time, I’m with the player, not the team. In this case, I’m abstaining. …

And finally, “Marcus the Mason” has certainly plummeted back to reality, now hasn’t he? Yes, everybody’s favorite Celtic bricklayer, Marcus Smart, went into Thursday night’s tango with the 76ers on a brilliant 10 for 49 run from behind the three-point arc. That folks, is a healthy .204 percentage for those of you without a calculator handy.

Contact Hector Longo at 594-1253 or hlongo@nashuatelegraph.com.

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