The Steelers solved the Patriots on Sunday, holding Tom Brady and New England's offense to its lowest point total of the season in a 25-17 win.
The Patriots' struggles have led us to the annual rite of passage in the NFL season, in which pundits predict grave danger for Bill Belichick's team.
You might remember a similar scenario last season after a loss to the lowly Cleveland Browns in Week 9. New England responded by running the table over the final eight games of the regular season.
So yes, the Patriots can handle adversity just fine. That's the point Brady made Monday morning during his weekly interview with WEEI-AM in Boston.
"We can sit here and worry about it and blame each other and listen to all the crap that's said about us, how much we suck and how much every player sucks, and then let that affect us next week," Brady said (via SportsRadioInterviews.com). "But we're not going to do that."
"We have an important game this week, and we have to be able to turn it around," Brady said. "That's the attitude that we take. It has served us well over the years. We're going to try to go out there and do a better job this week."
Are we the only ones that sense a vintage Brady performance coming up in six days? If we've learned anything from recent history, it's never to doubt the Patriots ... at least until the playoffs.