Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like there has to be a way to beat defenses like those. And I don't want to be unfair to the Patriots coaches, but it seems like maybe they could've made other adjustments and didn't.
For example, the Patriots usually do a lot of short passes to their backs, but did only a few yesterday. And if I remember correctly, they tried only one screen pass (the failed fourth-and-1 throw to Edelman), which is a traditional way of countering a strong pass rush.
Or am I way off base?
You need to be able to punish teams for only rushing four. Typically, I'd think that would require having an actual run game.
Brady can get the ball out super fast and they can go for all the short passes they want, but if the 1-on-1 matchups on the interior line are being won handily by the opponent, and in short order, it won't matter. Brady will still be running for his life half the game.