Slow starts have been destructive for the New England Patriots this season. 

And head coach Bill Belichick is very aware of that. But there is one question that remains: why does it keep happening. 

"I don't know how much more we can put into it," Belichick said to reporters on Friday morning. "We emphasize it a lot. We've looked at it every week. We've given it a lot of attention. So, we'll see what the results are, but we look at it a lot, we talk about it a lot. We try to put ourselves in the best possible position at the start of the game as we can, which I'm sure every team does that too, but it needs to be obviously better."

While many are focusing on the loss to the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints, where the Patriots lost by such a large margin, there have been other games this season where New England has fought back and almost been able to escape with the victory. 

So let's take a trip down memory lane. 

Out of the six games the Patriots have played this season, there have been four games where they have failed to score in the first quarter and one game where they couldn't get points on the board for the entire first half (and second half for that matter). 

The were two games they were able to get some points on the board in the opening 15 minutes, resulted in field goals. So overall, the Patriots have only scored a total of 6 points in the first quarter across six games. 

And on the other side, the Patriots have allowed their opponents to score a total of 39 points in the first quarter. 

New England has had increased luck in the second quarter, recording a total of 27 points throughout this season, but they have also let up 59 total points. 

It's clear the Patriots are very aware of this issue, and Belichick's message was clear: "We are certainly aware of it and are working to make it better."

Coming out of the half the Patriots have also looked slow, having only scored during those 15 minutes in two games. Yet, the defense has done a much better job, only allowing 12 points. 

And then there is the fourth quarter. Now this is the one where the offense has picked up in each game for the most part, having scored a total of 29 points. The best performance came against the Miami Dolphins, scoring fourteen points in the fourth quarter, but the comeback attempt wasn't enough. And once again, it's the points they have allowed that also continue to be a problem, with the opposing teams scoring a total of 42.  

–	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	First Half Total	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Second Half Total	TOTAL
Patriots	6	27	33	10	29	39	72
Opponents	39	59	98	12	42	54	152

So why show all of this?

In the losses to the Philadelphia Eagles, Dolphins, and Las Vegas Raiders, the Patriots had a chance to overtake the lead and even win against these top teams. However, the slow start forced them to play from behind. That combined with the lackluster performance across the entire offense leaves the Patriots trying to charge down the field in the final two minutes. And that attempt has yet to be successful so far this season. 

So if the Patriots can identify the problem and finally figure out a way to get ahead or even just get some points on the board early, this could be a whole different season for the Patriots. And with plenty of games still remaining, let's see if they can turn things around. 

Former Patriots captain Devin McCourty doesn’t hold back on his opinion of Bill Belichick

He will always have respect for Bill Belichick.