6 rings: Priorities need to take precedence when it comes to evaluating Bill Belichick's future
The Patriots gave their anti-tanking fans the ultimate early Christmas present on Sunday night, finding themselves back in the win column for the fourth time this season against the now 7-8 Denver Broncos.
With the win, New England now sits at 4-11 on the season and, for worse not better, moved from the No. 2 overall pick to the fourth in the 2024 NFL Draft.
We’re here to talk about the game, though. Here are five immediate thoughts from Christmas Eve’s contest at Mile High:
5 - Quite the start…
This whole “rock bottom” thing that everybody’s talking about with the Patriots? When does that actually kick in?
New England started with the ball on Sunday after Denver deferred to the second half, and this is what happened on their first offensive play:
Quite the Christmas present for Bailey Zappe.
4 - Special teams execution and personnel still not good enough.
With Matthew Slater out on Sunday night with a hamstring, you knew the Patriots’ special teams would struggle, and you saw it just five drives into the game.
A New England punt from their own 24 (mixed with yet another missed tackle by Brenden Schooler) led to a 52-yard return by Marvin Mims back to New England’s 25.
The return led to Denver’s first touchdown drive of the night.
“Mims is having a great year,” Belichick said of Denver’s returner during the week. “Both punt and kickoff returns, they really create a lot of field position there.”
He was then asked about New England’s own return coverage this season:
“Not bad,” he explained. “I mean, our net punt is better than what it's been. Some of that's come with some return yardage, but the ball's been punted further.”
Without Slater and an overall better coverage team, the distance didn’t matter on Sunday night.
3 - The Patriots need to have a contract extension waiting for Christian Barmore the second they’re able to.
Another week, another dominant performance from Christian Barmore.
The Patriots’ defensive tackle finished Sunday night’s game in Denver with seven tackles, three sacks, two tackles for loss, and four hits on quarterback Russell Wilson.
A second-round pick in 2022, Barmore is eligible for an extension next season. They should have the contract waiting for him as soon as they're able.
2 - Demario ‘Pop’ Douglas is the player the Patriots need to build around on offense.
A rare shining star in the Patriots’ offense, week in and week out, has been Patriots sixth-round pick Demario Douglas.
Hauling in five catches for 74 yards on Sunday night against the Broncos, the rookie out of Liberty added to his team-leading statistics with another great performance.
The Patriots need plenty on offense. A quarterback, premier offensive lineman, and true No. 1 outside wide receiver just to name a few.
What they have, though, is yet another shot-in-the-dark success story at slot wide receiver to build around.
1 - Deflated football’s or not, Chad Ryland couldn't figure it out... until it mattered most.
After last weekend’s contest between the Patriots and Chiefs, MassLive’s Mark Daniels reported the footballs used by both teams’ kicking units “were underinflated by two pounds due to an error by the officiating staff.” He continued: They were discovered to weigh 11 pounds instead of the legal limit of 13.5.”
Many believed the illegal balls led to both teams; kickers missing field goals in the first half, with New England rookie Chad Ryland missing wide-left from 41 and Chiefs’ veteran Harrison Butker missing from 39.
It turns out that, at least for the Patriots, the footballs may not have been the problem. Ryland missed yet another relative chipshot on Sunday night, this time from 42 yards out, and then missed an extra point on the following offensive drive.
It looked like New England would be looking for another kicker heading into 2024, but after a seven-play, 43-yard drive conducted by quarterback Bailey Zappe, Ryland was given a chance to redeem himself. And that he did.
With seven seconds left on the game clock, the Patriots rookie labeled a 56-yard field goal and was able to get his team their fourth win of the season. Take a look at the clutch kick:
He knew it was good the second he hit it.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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