FOXBORO — A September rule of thumb.

What goes up in the NFL must come down, and what starts down doesn’t stay there for long.

Just ask the Packers, who got dumped by the winless, hapless Browns last weekend.

Or the Panthers, who earned their first win by flipping a 30-0 bird to the Falcons that same day.

Or try your hometown Patriots .

The Pats dropped their season opener to Las Vegas, then stole an upset in Miami and lost to Pittsburgh last weekend. If oddsmakers are right, they should rebound against Carolina this Sunday and close out the month at 2-2.

But until the Patriots actually play again, big-picture questions abound, including this one: who are they?

Are they the butterfingered bunch committing losing fumbles left and right? Or are these turnovers just growing pains for

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