We learned a lot about the New England Patriots team this week. After being dominated by the Pittsburgh Steelers—a team the Pats usually beat—the Patriots took on the New York Giants this past Sunday. On a day when the defense finally showed up (at least for one half; baby steps, people), Tom Brady played poorly, and that’s being polite. I don’t care that he had over 300 yards and two touchdowns (TDs). He also had another two interceptions and a fumble that led to a combined 10 points, much larger than the eventual margin of victory for New York.

Clearly this stretch, starting with the Rob Ryan-led Cowboys, has exposed the once-prolific Pats offense. Brady threw for a lot of yards and a pair of scores, but he never really looked comfortable in the pocket as the Giants managed to apply some pressure, but not enough that I would expect him to fold.

This was a decidedly uninspired performance by the offense despite the stat lines after the final whistle. Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker both had productive days, surprising no one. The big man had eight catches for 101 yards and a very clutch TD catch in the fourth quarter (after dropping passes on second and third down), while the little man hauled in nine balls for 136 yards. Aaron Hernandez still doesn’t look like the Dallas Clark-esque weapon that he was before his knee injury earlier this year, and at such a physical position, we may not see him back at 100 percent until next year.

Chad Ochocinco had his most exciting, and disappointing, day since joining the club. He was targeted five times and had exactly zero catches. The interesting thing is that only one or maybe two of those are on him; Brady just flat out missed him on the other three, including one where he beat the corner on a post and was wide open for a TD. Brady underthrew it and was lucky he wasn’t picked again.

Eli Manning threw for 250 yards and two TDs while also throwing a pick. His QB rating of 77.9 was far below his season average, which was over 100 before kickoff. So don’t blame this game on the defense. Ten points off turnovers, and of that, seven came on a TD run by Brandon Jacobs after Brady fumbled at the Pats’ 10. The D also had a huge stop in the end zone when Kyle Arrington—who is probably having the most invisible five-pick season of any Patriot defensive back since Asante Samuel—picked off Manning after a fumble by Julian Edelman (funny, he doesn’t seem to have a problem holding on to things at Halloween parties). Brandon “I ain’t got nothing positive to say” Jacobs had a respectable 18 carries for 72 yards and a TD, which could hardly be called a game- breaking performance.

No, the D didn’t dominate, and yes, the Giants did mount their two best drives in the fourth quarter, but if the Pats had won this game, the D would have gotten the lion-share of the credit.

This game is on the offense. The Patriots must outscore opponents to win games, everyone and their senile grandma who still thinks that West Point is going to win the national championship on the legs of Gerald Ford knows that. Apparently somebody forgot to tell Tom Brady that. The season is hardly over, but for a team that looked on its way to the AFC title game it now looks more like a leaky ship that is going to have to fight for their playoff lives.

What if this team makes the playoffs? Who knows. I don’t want to think that far ahead.

Next week’s Sunday night game in New York against Sexy Rexy and the New York Jets is not a must-win, but if the Pats lose, they would fall to 5-4 and would be looking up at two teams in the division.