New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady put in his yearly bid as an MVP candidate once again this season. Unfortunately, as evidenced by the Patriots' disappointing loss to their division rival Miami Dolphins on Monday night, Brady has seen quite a dip in his production.

There is one notable factor that can be attributed to the five-time Super Bowl champ's poor performance as of late. As shown in a graphic posted by NFL reporter Dov Kleiman, Brady's struggles seemingly began in Week 12 when he showed up on the injury report for an Achilles:

https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/940666136286375937

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Brady  initially brushed off the seriousness of the injury when he was forced to miss practice a few weeks ago. However, his recent numbers clearly suggest otherwise.

Fortunately, New England has not suffered as a result, going 2-1 during that span. Not to mention the absence of superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski undoubtedly had an impact on how the Miami defense approached the game.

That said, there is still plenty of concern as to the severity of Brady's injured Achilles moving forward. The Patriots have arguably their biggest game of the season in a Week 15 showdown with the high-powered Pittsburgh Steelers in what could be an early preview of this year's AFC Championship Game.