The Return of the Patriots Dynasty

Chris Merfeld, Staff Writer

While many people thought the Patriots dynasty ended for good last season, the Patriots, led by Darth Hoodie (Bill Belichick) and their newest Luke Skywalker, Mac Jones, have shown that they’re ready for another round in the playoffs.

With the loss of Tom Brady, the once huge dynasty seemed to have lost its snuff. Brady escaped to the warm breezes of Florida, riding on the sails of the Buccaneers to another Super Bowl ring. Darth Hoodie had to rely on a different type of QB that season, and a 7-9 season ensued.

Darth Hoodie went about doing what he does best: planning, drafting and, most importantly, doing his job. He drafted another up-and-comer who was similar to Brady when he started his career: Mac Jones. He started picking up free agents that he thought would be best for his new QB to target and those who would strengthen his secondary.

Finally, Darth Hoodie used Cam Newton as a stalling tool so he could initiate Jones to the ways of the Football Force. The preseason was the warm up. The real season was the best way to test the newly oiled Patriots hyperdrive.

These first six games were an attempt to find a rhythm and get all on the same page: a close loss against the Dolphins, a bigger one to the Saints, another close one to the Buccaneers and a nail-biter in overtime to the Cowboys, while one smackdown against the Jets came in between.  

This may look like the spiral to another disappointing season for most Patriots fans; however, little did anyone know, they were on the verge of a comeback. They started off strong once more with another huge slam in the face of the Jets, followed by a tight win against the Chargers, a couple of run away wins against the Panthers and Browns, a complete shutout against the Falcons, and an easier win against the Titans.

Finally, the perfect match up came to show why Darth Hoodie is the best at his job. The stage was set against their rivals in the AFC North Conference, the Buffalo Bills. There were wind gusts reaching up to 40-50 mph, giving Darth Hoodie the excuse to run the ball hard against a defense that was mainly designed for the pass. 

This game saw Mac Jones throw a single pass in the first half, tying for the fewest number of passes thrown in the first half of any football game since 1978. While the fumbles and lost yards were somewhat of an issue, the final plays really nailed down what Darth Hoodie had planned. He never used a heavy goal line blitz; he always used a more traditional form. 

On Buffalo’s final drive, Darth Hoodie simply waved his hand and they were choked out of their set of downs. He had changed his defensive schemes for the last drive, not allowing any proton missiles to get through the deflector shields that was the Bills’ run defense. 

The Bills will have another shot at Darth Hoodie and Mac Jones, but Patriots fans can rest assured that they will be ready.