This is the state of the Patriots.

Multiple defensive players declared Sunday they did their part after a loss in which they allowed 27 points. A respected veteran openly questioned whether the offense had moved fast enough while trailing by two scores with four minutes left. And Bill Belichick, asked about his offense’s urgency in that moment, an obvious hurry-up situation, mostly agreed with said veteran.

Because the Pats know they are out of options. Bailey Zappe is good for one half per game, then he flirts with disaster. Zappe is also throwing to the league’s worst receiving corps. The offensive line charged with protecting him is now split into two groups: those on the field, and in the trainer’s room. And the Patriots can’t kick field goals or stop committing dumb penalties.

Of course, it’s in the team’s best interest, with a hollowed-out roster and without a franchise quarterback, to embrace defeat. But that’s not happening here.

The Patriots are trying to win. They practiced, prepared and studied for hundreds of hours during the week, then took an early lead on Patrick Mahomes and fought for turnovers in a seemingly lost fourth quarter. Belichick gave the referees an earful throughout.

But none of it translated because life is just this bad in Foxboro.

The Pats need an overhaul. How soon can it come? Not for at least three more weeks, during which time their opponents will continue to determine the distance between these Patriots and a return to relevance.

On Sunday, Kansas City fielded the most well-rounded roster of the Andy Reid era, a team built on a top-10 offense, defense and special teams by DVOA. The Chiefs’ performance proved the Pats are at least a few years away from real contention, especially the way they manhandled their hosts in two phases. The last phase, Belichick’s defense, believed it had played well enough to win – and was still only half right.

Because even there, the Patriots were out-played and out-coached. Here’s what else the film revealed about Sunday’s loss:

Accurate throw percentage: 79.3%

Under pressure: 7-of-12 for 71 yards, INT, 3 sacks

Against the blitz: 7-of-11 for 83 yards, INT, 2 sacks

Behind the line: 6-of-6 for 17 yards

0-9 yards downfield: 13-of-17 for 93 yards

10-19 yards downfield: 4-of-5 for 70 yards, TD, INT

20+ yards downfield: 0-of-1

Notes: The difference between first-half Bailey Zappe (115.1 passer rating) and Zappe’s second-half alter ego (8.68 passer rating) comes down to a few predictable factors.

Sample size. Performance under pressure, an unstable metric for quarterbacks (meaning it’s not necessarily predictive game to.game or half to half). And opponents’ adjustments.

Just like his performance in Pittsburgh, Zappe benefitted from a solid opening script and lived on the edge with his first half against the Chiefs. The most notable example was a long, third-down heave to DeVante Parker under pressure that set up his only touchdown pass.

Zappe started 5-of-6 for 53 yards under pressure with a couple sacks, then his numbers nosedived because pressure is bad for quarterbacks, and inevitably — especially when pressured on 42.8% of their dropbacks as Zappe was – they will commit back-breaking mistakes.

Zappe broke on a third-quarter interception that led to a Kansas City touchdown and 14-point lead two plays later. After that, the Chiefs backed off the early-down blitzes Zappe had beaten with max-protect play-action shots and easy-access throws. Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien also retreated with his play-calling, going run-heavy on first down despite the Patriots’ growing deficit, which put Zappe in poor down-and-distances the rest of the game.

No surprise: Zappe, a backup facing one of the NFL’s fiercest and highest-pressure defenses, finished with a middling stat line, thanks to a 4-of-12 showing in the second half that yielded 39 yards and a pick.

Were it not for a holding penalty, Henry would have scored two touchdowns for a second straight game. Instead, he finished a team-best six catches and 57 yards.

A sack, one hurry and a team-high two run-stuffs. Barmore’s midseason run of dominance continues.

Granted, Austin was put in a difficult spot by J.C. Jackson’s sudden absence, but his defensive holding penalty wiped away a turnover. He was also whistled for illegal use of hands in the first quarter.

Jones was responsible for two of the Chiefs’ three longest plays of the game, the 32-yarder to tight end Noah Gray and 31-yard completion to receiver Justin Watson on third down.

The fourth-round rookie allowed a team-worst three hurries and lost other reps decisively that would have resulted in pressure were it not for Zappe’s quick trigger.

Statistics for passing depth, broken tackles and missed tackles courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

*Explosive plays are defined as runs of 12-plus yards and passes of 20-plus yards. Explosive play rate is one of the most strongly correlated metrics with wins and losses.

**Success rate is an efficiency metric measuring how often an offense stays on schedule. A play is successful when it gains at least 40% of yards-to-go on first down, 60% of yards-to-go on second down and 100% of yards-to-go on third or fourth down.

***11 personnel = one running back, one tight end; 12 personnel = one running back, two tight ends; 13 personnel = one running back, three tight ends; 21 = two halfbacks, one tight end.

****Base defense = four defensive backs; nickel defense = five defensive backs; dime defense = six defensive backs; goal-line defense = three defensive backs; dollar defense = seven defensive backs.