Gillette Stadium – The Patriots’ comeback offer fell through very predictably in a 22-18 loss to the Bengals on Christmas Eve at Gillette Stadium.
Our reaction to the first 40 minutes was the same as everyone watching the game. After last week’s loss to the Raiders, they gave up. They gave up the season and the coaches, and their season ended when Chandler Jones crossed the goal line in Las Vegas.
Although they still couldn’t get over the bump, the Patriots at least fought back in the second half to recover and make it a one-score game. Instead of letting go of the rope, which cost New England a win, it was situational football. Surprise Surprise. It wasn’t an effort or a buy-in, but rather a late-game execution that continues to plague this team.
“I read a book called Culture Code. We fall into this thought process that that’s exactly what the New England Patriots do. But the truth is, culture is built every year. What we have seen in the past, these were these teams, this is what they were built on, this is what they were You have to build this Honestly right now we don’t have this We don’t do it regularly enough to be behind or be in the close and find three plays, two plays to decide the game.
“The team has to keep building that. Every game, every experience is a new experience for this team. Lots of young guys. We have a sophomore quarterback. Every thing is building. We have to take those lessons and keep going. learn better,” captain Devin McCourty told Patriots.com.
Going down 22-18 late in the fourth quarter, quarterback Mac Jones completed a 15-yard screen pass at handgun Marcus Jones to get into the red zone. In the plays that followed, the Pats ran the ball four times in a row, and the final rush attempt resulted in a fumble by second-year running back Rhamondre Stevenson.
After back-to-back losing turnovers on offense, players on the pitch need to take responsibility, and Stevenson did, saying, “probably more than I was supposed to. Probably should have gone down.” But the Patriots were trying to accomplish two things at once by running the ball over four consecutive plays: running the clock and scoring the game-winning touchdown, which head coach Bill Belichick admitted was the case during his conference of post-match press.
“Trying to score and trying to control the clock. They used their time outs. We had control of the clock and the position on the pitch on the last, what was that? First down,” said Belichick said.
For an offense that’s ranked last in red-zone scoring and trying to figure out how to win close games, these Patriots aren’t equipped like the old teams to accomplish those tasks simultaneously. Ideally, it would be nice to score the touchdown and give Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow no time. But run four, five, six consecutive runs to get there without downplay or losing four points? Not this team. Just mark.
Blame players for poor ball security and late game execution. It’s a fair criticism. Yet it’s also fair to wonder if the coaches put the team in the best position to win in the final minutes.
The Patriots are back below .500 with a 7-8 record, which means they are no longer in control of their own destiny. It’s a long shot, even with wins in their last two games, but how this team competes in the stretch will be worth watching with an uncertain offseason on the horizon.
Here are eight takeaways as the Patriots drop to 7-8 with two games left in the season:
1. Power play of the game presented by Ener: Marcus Jones’ 69-yard pick-six brings the Patriots to life in the third quarter
The Patriots’ defense struggled mightily in the first half, but they tied a franchise record with six defensive touchdowns with two games left in the season. This time it turned things around.
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