FOXBOROUGH – As the boos rained down, it was Bill Belichick caught swearing on the sidelines this time. the patriots the coach could be seen swearing on the sidelines in the first quarter on Sunday. In the second quarter, the officials’ microphone heard him shout a different expletive.
At halftime, that crowd was booing the Patriots in the locker room. At the final whistle, fans were heartbroken.
Merry Christmas, Coach.
If we’re being honest, Saturday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals was fitting. This 2022 Patriots team doesn’t deserve to go to the playoffs. After losing 22-18 to the Bengals, their season will almost certainly end in two weeks. This is how it should be.
There’s not much you can do in the NFL. In the end, you get what you deserve, and this year’s failures fall on Belichick’s shoulders.
Saturday was just another example. As loyal fans crowded into a freezing Gillette Stadium, the Patriots offense was lifeless for three quarters. By the time they regained life, the game finally ended in a costly offensive turnover in the red zone.
After failing to drive through midfield until the last play of the third quarter, the Patriots nearly came back on Christmas Eve. Instead, that offensive incompetence reared its ugly head appropriately – a fumble from Rhamondre Stevenson five yards from a touchdown.
The boss was justified. Belichick’s decisions led to a team with a poor training setup, shallow depth in key positions and a poorly managed ceiling situation. Look no further than McJones and the Patriots offense.
Kendrick Bourne has proven himself
When you have a young quarterback, it’s important to create a level of security around him. It’s not about holding his hand but making sure he’s surrounded by players he trusts. One of the biggest mistakes this season comes from the handling of receiver Kendrick Bourne.
Last year, Bourne finished with a career-high 800 receiving yards. On Saturday, Jones called Bourne one of his closest friends. When he plays, he looks like one of the Patriots’ most dynamic receivers.
“KB, he’s a great teammate, and he’s one of my closest friends,” Jones said. “Every time I saw him he had a smile on his face, even in a situation like that at the end of the game where we try to fight back and there’s a lot of pressure, he’s in there, smiling like, “Let’s go do this.” When you see that from a guy, and I say the same thing in huddle, I want to look for a guy like that, who wants to compete and play and play with effort.
That’s why it’s baffling that Bourne has played fewer snaps than four receivers on the Patriots’ roster — Jakobi Meyers, Devante Parker, Nelson Agholor and Tyquan Thornton. On Saturday, Bourne showed his coaches why he should be on this playing field.
On the Patriots’ first drive, Bourne caught passes for 19 and 32 yards before scoring a 32-yard touchdown. On their second drive, the receiver caught a ridiculous 28-yard pass.
“I go there and take my opportunities. It’s just about making them when I get them,” Bourne said. “It’s not the easiest situation, but I get the most out of it when I get there.”
Bourne finished with a career-high 100 yards on Saturday. Given Jones’ struggles last week in Las Vegas, one wonders why Bourne only played 11 snaps on offense. He looked like a player who should play more, not less.
When asked why Bourne hasn’t played as much this season, Belichick replied, “No particular reason.”
Mac Jones has shown he is capable of throwing a Hail Mary
On Saturday, Jones showed his arm strength.
Last week, when the Patriots game ended in embarrassment, Belichick was asked why the team didn’t attempt a Hail Mary in that final game in Las Vegas. The coach replied, “We couldn’t throw it that far.”
It felt like a dig at Jones and how strong his arms were. That pass in Las Vegas would have been a 55-yard attempt – inside a dome. On Saturday, Jones threw a 48-yard pass – in the freezing cold – that bounced off Scotty Washington and landed in the hands of Jakobi Meyers for a touchdown.
Right there, Belichick was wrong. You never know what can happen to an Ave Maria.
Instead of praising the strength of his arms, Jones blamed what led to that 48-yard score. The Patriots were down to third-and-29, in part because of his intentional ground call.
“At that time I did a lot of things to put us in this situation, which is not good,” Jones said. “…But at some point, you just have to let it rip.”
In Las Vegas, the Patriots balked at letting Jones tear up. They focused on running play against one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL. Given Belichick’s comments about Jones’ arm strength, the night in Vegas seemed like a sign the Patriots didn’t trust their quarterback.
During the three quarters, we could only see Saturday. After the first quarter, the offense had 10 total yards. Jones was 0 for 2 assists. The group never touched the midfield this half. The Patriots offense didn’t cross midfield until the last play of the third quarter.
Jones turned it on in the fourth quarter. It didn’t hurt that he was throwing at one of his best players in Bourne.
Mac is very laid back. He’s been like that his whole career,” Bourne said. Very proud of this guy. He’s a warrior. That’s what we need. We didn’t get the result we want, but we love it. the fight we have in our guys.
Belichick gets the blame
Belichick was caught without a plan when Josh McDaniels left for Las Vegas last offseason. Instead of building a young offensive coach behind his offensive coordinator, who had interviews for head coaching gigs every offseason, Belichick put Matt Patricia and Joe Judge in charge of the operation.
This move was criticized from the jump. It never worked. The offense seemed ineffective in training camp and in preseason. They have never looked better in the regular season.
Last year, under McDaniels, the Patriots offense finished sixth in the NFL in points scored and 15th in yards. They entered this game 17th in points and 25th in yards. The drop in offensive production is clearly due to Belichick’s inability to adequately replace McDaniels.
The change of coach is not the only problem with this group.
The Patriots also failed when it came to building proper depth at tackle. They entered this season relying on Trent Brown and Isaiah Wynn. Neither player has been a role model of durability in their careers. The Patriots haven’t built enough depth behind them. They entered the regular season with Yodny Cadjus as the best substitute. He was passed on the depth chart by Conor McDermott, who was signed by the New York Jets practice squad.
Then there are the issues with receivers and tight ends. The Patriots have the most expensive tight end in the NFL at $23.4 million with Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. They have the second most expensive ballroom at $34.3 million.
As we saw once again on Saturday, the Patriots are having issues with their receivers opening up and players running routes too close to each other. For a team spending so much money on these offensive weapons, the production is alarming.
When asked what Belichick’s responsibility was in offensive chess, he replied, “I’m the head coach.”
Yes, you are – and that’s why these losses are yours, Coach.
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