Oh what a bye weekend it was in New England!
Not only did Bill Belichick’s team enjoy an extra week of rest, self-scouting and recuperation just past the midpoint of the season, but the Patriots actually slid into a playoff spot without even playing a game.
Thanks to the Chargers’ loss to the 49ers, New England now sits in the seventh and final playoff slot in the AFC. Though there is obviously still a ton of season-defining football left to be played, all four of the AFC East teams currently hold a spot in the postseason picture – the Dolphins as the division leader and the Bills, Jets and Patriots filling out the Wild Card spots.
Oh, and for good measure, Buffalo lost its game to the Vikings, the Bills looking a bit more beatable of late with Josh Allen suddenly turning into a bit of a turnover machine.
Of course it’s still rather early to be taking any kind of Foxborough victory lap for a 5-4 squad that still has crucial, difficult games against fellow would-be playoff squads like the Bills (twice), upstart Vikings, Jets and Dolphins as well as still potentially dangerous opponents like the Bengals, Cardinals and even Josh McDaniels’ scuffling Raiders.
If the Patriots are indeed going to follow the current path and earn a spot in the postseason, New England is going to have to do a heck of a lot of things a heck of a lot better over the second half of the season to get to playoff action.
With that in mind, here are the five guys who most need to step up their contributions in New England over the final eight games of the year if Belichick & Co. are going to lock up a playoff spot for the second-straight winter.
1 – Matt Patricia: New England’s first-year play-caller has struggled in his on-the-job training. The Patriots offense is too predictable and not productive enough. It lacks many true consistent playmakers or consistent plays at key times, like in the red zone. It’s not all about Patricia’s game plans or play-calls, but he needs to find a way to get more out of his players and overall unit down the stretch. Patricia needs to diversify and maximize what the offense can do as the group will likely need to score more points with more consistency over the final two months to continue to win games at even a .500 clip. Forget whether he was qualified for the job in the first place, at this point Patricia just has to find a way to get it done.
2 – Mac Jones: It was a crazy, disappointing first half of the season for New England’s second-year franchise QB. He turned the ball over too often, was under too much pressure, dealt with an ankle injury and seemingly had few teammates to turn to for consistent help in the passing game. But the reality is that a franchise QB has to make those around him better and figure out a path to production. Jones’ energy, attitude and confidence seemed to be on the uptick heading into the bye. Now, he needs to simply make more plays and fewer mistakes on the game field. He is the face and foundation of the New England offense. In many ways its success or failure will be Jones’ success or failure in November and December. It’s time for him to take the reins and lead his horses to more consistent success, whether it be from drive to drive or game to game down the stretch.
3 – Isaiah Wynn: One thing that would probably help both Patricia and Jones do their jobs better would be more consistent play from the New England offensive line that’s been a major part of the offensive struggles throughout the first two-plus months of 2022. Wynn is at the center of that. He struggled in pass protection and with too many penalties. He was replaced and even bumped in to guard. Wynn is certainly supposed to be one of the Patriots’ best five linemen on paper. It’s time for the former first-round pick and soon-to-be free agent who’s making $10-plus million to give an honest game’s performance for a more than honest day’s pay.
4 – Kendrick Bourne: Oh what has happened to Bourne? Mere months ago he was seen as a budding Patriots’ playmaker with versatile skills.
Some had the audacity to compare him to All-Pro Deebo Samuel. Now, he’s a forgotten part of the New England offense. While every receiver not named Jakobi Meyers needs to be better for the Patriots, Bourne is at the top of the list. His production with Jones a year ago and playmaking talent are proven. It’s up to Patricia, Jones and Bourne to figure out a way for him to get back to his effective, energetic best. New England doesn’t have many offensive options that could give pause to opposing defenses and Bourne was supposed to be one of those guys. Sure DeVante Parker and Tyquan Thornton need to be better, but Bourne has no logical reason to be a forgotten man. Time for him and the Patriots to remind opponents what he’s capable of.
5 -- Christian Barmore: It’s not that Barmore – who’s missed three games to a knee injury – was alarmingly bad over the first half of the season. It’s more that the expectation was that the second-year defensive tackle would take his game to the next level this fall and that hasn’t happened. Given that the defense will be facing more formidable offensive attacks led by more talented quarterbacks over the final two months, New England’s defense is going to have to be at its best more often than not moving forward. Sure that includes Matthew Judon continuing to play at a high level. And it probably includes the back end continuing to play above its collective resume. But getting Barmore to be more of a pocket-collapsing force as an interior rusher would be another nice step toward the Patriots’ defense proving it can be the catalyst for the team’s success even against the five top-10 offenses it will face in the next eight games.
Thanks to MacFarlane Energy where they offer the most dependable home heating oil delivery and HVAC service including Lennox heating and cooling systems. Visit MacFarlaneEnergy.com for more.