The New England Patriots dynasty may have come to an end. They made an early exit in the wild card round against the Tennessee Titans. However, there are more things that were lost in the team's wild-card exit: Their AFC title game streak came to a screeching halt after eight years.

The streak began in 2011 when they reached Super Bowl XLVI against the New York Giants in Indianapolis. It then became a long string of playoff dominance as Tom Brady and Bill Belichick continued to defy expectations and dominate their opponents. It was a run that cemented their legacy as one of the best football dynasties ever.

However, it wasn't like this loss came as a surprise to many Patriots fans. This season has been an uphill climb for the team ever since the first quarter of the season. The loss merely confirmed what many fans have seen about the Patriots throughout the year: this iteration of the Patriots need to change.

Tom Brady is a shell of himself during the game. He managed to get 209 passing yards to his name, but none of them resulted in a touchdown. Moreover, he threw away one interception. The receiving corps are just as guilty as he is when it comes to losing the game.

The running game has never been the Patriots' forte, but they were forced to run the ball as the Titans defense clamped down on the passing game. The Patriots defense could only do so much for a team that fails to get touchdowns on the regular.

Belichick knows that something needs to change. It's not yet known if that change involves parting with the QB that he found so much success with, but they need to get themselves back on the right track. The current iteration of the Patriots are far from the level they expected themselves to be.