Quarterback, Tom Brady, and the New England Patriots had an incredible NFL reign for two decades by appearing in nine Super Bowls and winning six of them. Since 2001, the Patriots won their AFC East Division every season except for 2002 and 2008.

Now that Brady has left the division and is playing for Tampa Bay, the AFC East is more wide open, allowing the possibility for the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins to emerge.

However, it’s not that simple as ESPN’s Rich Cimini explains in his article with the headline, “Jets Rid of Tom Brady, But Still Must Overcome Biggest Foe – Themselves.”

Even though the Patriots’ greatness made it tough on the other teams in the division, he makes the case that the Jets played a key role in their own struggles.

He writes, “Let’s be clear: Even though they were tormented by Brady for 19 years, the Jets’ No. 1 enemy over that span was the Jets. Brady beat them 29 times in the regular season, once in the playoffs. You can bet they beat themselves more than 30 times – on the field, in the locker room, in the front office, in the ownership suite or all of the above.

“The Jets’ record in the Brady era (2001-19) was 139-165, a .457 winning percentage – a full 93 games behind the New England Patriots. While the excellence of Brady and coach Bill Belichick contributed to the Jets’ anguish, it’s a flimsy excuse to say they were the sole reasons for the suffering. The Jets were mediocre because they were mediocre.”

Of course, there’s much more hope for the Jets, Dolphins, and Bills without number 12 in uniform for the Patriots, but the reality is, they are each responsible for their own decisions and what happens out on the field.

Jets’ head coach, Adam Gase, actually understands this. He recently said, “We’ve just got to do a good job of focusing on what we have to do to make sure we’re doing everything right in our building.”

Most of us can relate to the premise that we, too, must overcome our “biggest foe,” which is ourselves. It’s easy to blame others or circumstances for the decisions we’ve made or what we’ve done with our lives, but ultimately we have to “focus on what we have to do.”

We have to move past “flimsy excuses” and address how we’re getting in our own way and preventing ourselves from experiencing fruit in our lives.

The Bible says in Galatians 6:4-5 (AMP), “But each one must carefully scrutinize his own work [examining his actions, attitudes, and behavior], and then he can have the personal satisfaction and inner joy of doing something commendable without comparing himself to another. For every person will have to bear [with patience] his own burden [of faults and shortcomings for which he alone is responsible].”

Taking responsibility, embracing accountability, and owning up to our poor judgment are important. Thankfully when we do, Jesus offers us grace and a fresh start.

We must embrace the new life in front of us and do what’s right according to God’s Word. Thankfully, we don’t have to do this in our own strength or power because when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we’re given His Holy Spirit to help us.

There’s no need to keep beating ourselves up for past decisions or previous “losing seasons,” but we also don’t want to “beat ourselves” with a pattern of foolishness and unwise choices by giving in to our fleshly desires.

Proverbs 19:3 (NLT) gives us this truth: “People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.”

If we choose disobedience and selfish ways, we can’t continue to make excuses and point the finger everywhere else. So, if we desire for our lives to change and head in a positive direction, we must surrender our hearts to Jesus, admitting we can be our own “foe” and repenting.

Today, let’s get out of our own way and live a Spirit-filled life so we experience fruit and victory. I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I pray I’d examine my own life and the decisions I’ve made and not make excuses. I admit my pride and selfishness have led to foolishness, but I thank you for Your grace and willingness to give me a fresh start. Please help me to daily overcome myself so I can rely on Your Spirit to guide me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

Discussion Questions for PACKS:

1. In what ways have you tried to blame others or make excuses when you were the one at fault?

2. In what ways do you need to stop pointing the finger and take responsibility for the decisions you’ve made and move forward in God’s grace?