Now we have a little more information on why the New England Patriots were beaten handily by the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football. Indeed – in the wake of the loss at Houston – a report comes out that a lot of the Patriots were sick and traveled in sectors to the game. In specific, two planes were needed. One as an infirmary plane, the other as a plane full of healthy players.
Furthermore, ESPN’s Field Yate says taking two planes were a precautionary response to an illness in the Patriots locker room. This was in hopes the move would prevent the illness from spreading any further among its healthy players.
With an illness sweeping the locker room this week, the Patriots did something uncommon in traveling to Houston: the team flew in two planes, one to accommodate those who were sick and keep others away from them. Nine players are questionable because of the sickness.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 1, 2019
Equally important, the story says this is a luxury that only a franchise like New England could afford.
In all, eight players missed practice due to illness the week prior to the game on Wednesday.
Finally, the Patriots have used travel method as an advantage before. For instance, Chris Long once said that it was customary for Bill Belichick to allow veteran players to sit in first class while the coaching staff sat in coach seats during a flight.
Now with two losses, the Patriots will need every edge they can find if they’re going to make it back to another Super Bowl. Sick or not, they appeared a bit vulnerable on Sunday Night.
