MINNEAPOLIS — There is plenty of speculation surrounding the future of the Patriots following their 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night in Super Bowl LII.

But there is no question why the Patriots failed to win a record-tying sixth Super Bowl and the Eagles hoisted the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in franchise history and won their first NFL Championship since 1960.

The Patriots’ lack of talent on defense was finally exposed after a season in which they were able to patch and play with the no-name likes of Eric Lee, Johnson Bademosi, Marquis Flowers, Ricky Jean Francois, and Elandon Roberts along with an underwhelming James Harrison.

And benching Malcolm Butler only exasperated the talent-thin situation.

It’s a team that had one legitimate playmaker — think forced fumbles, tipped passes, quarterback hits — in the front seven once linebacker Dont’a Hightower landed on injured reserve, that being Trey Flowers. Solving that problem, via free agency and the draft, should be the team’s biggest offseason priority once coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia are replaced.

The wish list includes a tackle who can provide an interior pass rush, an end who can set the edge and provide pocket pressure off it, a three-down linebacker, and, of course, a cornerback to replace the out-of-here Butler.

The Patriots couldn’t consistently pressure quarterbacks, they failed to generate turnovers (two in their final seven games) and, most important, they regularly couldn’t get off the field on third down. The latter is a bedrock of the situational football Bill Belichick has built his dynasty on.

The Patriots got away with it during the regular season, allowing teams to drive down the field before being stopped in the red zone. Not so against the Eagles, who were aggressive and stressed the Patriots vertically and horizontally while spreading the ball around.

“We didn’t tackle well,” safety Duron Harmon said. “We didn’t play well on third down. Situational football was terrible. You have to take your hats off to them. They made the plays and we didn’t. So that’s why they’re the champs and we’re not.”

The Eagles gouged the Patriots for 538 yards. That’s the second-most yards allowed in a playoff game in franchise history and the most allowed in any game in Belichick’s 18 seasons in New England.

Remarkably, 196 of those yards came on third or fourth downs as the Eagles went 12 for 18 for a success rate of 66.7 percent. They not only converted, they did so while gobbling up turf at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Eagles had gains of 17, 15, 19, 26, 55, 17, 14, 22, and 11 yards on third down. They scored a touchdown on third down and one on fourth down. And they spread the ball around with seven players making catches or runs behind an offensive line that was voted the league’s best by the NFL the day before the game.

“Both offenses just moved the ball up and down,” safety Devin McCourty said. “We looked back and it was third down. I don’t know what happened at the finish, but we just couldn’t get off the field on third down. It was just man-to-man coverage and they kept making plays.”

The Patriots didn’t have any answers for the Eagles offense on Sunday, but they need to find some for their defense this offseason.