Following a week off and a handful of players being placed on the COVID-19 reserve list over the last two weeks, the Patriots returned to action Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium and came away with an ugly 18-12 loss to the Broncos
Bill Belichick’s team forced Denver to kick six field goals on the day and had possession in the Broncos end of the field with a minute to play but turned the ball over on downs to fall to 2-3 on the season, equaling their visitor’s record. It’s the first time the Patriots have had a losing record in October or later since November of 2002.
Before turning the page to next week’s visit by Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers, here are some of the personnel highs and lows from the loss to the Broncos.
Thumbs up
Bend-but-don’t-break/red zone defense – This is the only thing that kept Belichick’s team from being even more embarrassed early one at home. New England stopped the Broncos on two red zone trips and six overall touchdown-scoring chances leading to six Denver field goals on the way to the victory. Denver had seven possessions inside the Patriots 40, including two inside the 10, and came away with only field goals. That kept the Patriots in the game till the very end, even though the comeback effort came up short.
James White – On a day when not much at all went right for the Patriots, White quietly did his job on limited chances. He finished with a game-high eight catches for 65 yards and added four runs for 8 yards. His 22-yard catch-and-run screen on a double-pass from Julian Edelman in the fourth quarter was the biggest play of the day for New England. Sadly, on this day, that was enough to be one of the better Patriots on the Gillette turf.
Jonathan Jones/Adrian Phillips – New England’s defense was porous against the run and gave up too many chunk plays against the pass, but the two veterans Jones and Phillips were among minimal bright spots. Jones fended off a couple Broncos targets in the end zone early to help force field goals and then had a key interception late in the fourth quarter on an ill-advised Drew Lock deep ball with little more than three minutes to play. Phillips was his active self up front, finishing with 10 tackles, including two for a loss and a nice special teams stop. Both brought energy for a team that could have used more of it across the board.
Nick Folk – The veteran kicker had his struggles early in the year, but has settled in of late. He hit on field goals from 41 and 38 yards against Denver. On a day when it was true for very few Patriots, Folk did his job in the losing effort.
Thumbs down
Brian Hoyer – After spending the first three weeks of the season as Cam Newton’s primary backup, the veteran journeyman had a hellacious start in Week 4 at Kansas City that was littered with turnovers and bad decisions. Sunday against Denver, Hoyer found himself as the inactive third quarterback with second-year man Jarrett Stidham bumped up to the backup role.
From starter to benched to inactive, it’s been a rollercoaster couple weeks for Hoyer in New England.
Offensive line/Isaiah Wynn – Sooner or later the injuries and lineup changes were going to catch up to the line. That came to fruition against Denver. Strangely, though, it was one of the Patriots regular starters that had the biggest problem against the Broncos. Wynn started at left guard in the make-shift lineup and swiftly gave up a pressure on the first drive that led to a Shelby Harris pass deflection that ended up a Sylvester Williams interception. Later, when the Patriots shuffled the lineup again, Wynn moved to his usual left tackle spot where got run over by Bradley Chubb for a strip sack. Tough day for Wynn and the line as a group.
Injuries – David Andrews, Beau Allen and Sony Michel (COVID-19 reserve too) are potentially key contributors already on IR. Shaq Mason was inactive with a calf injury. And the health issues continued against Denver.
Right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (right ankle) left the game after being rolled up on by Cam Newton on a sack. Defensive lineman Adam Butler (elbow) left with an elbow injury. The biggest area of concern is the offensive line, where Bill Belichick told CBS at halftime that he had to go with a lineup up front of guys who’d never practiced together. Not surprisingly, the banged-up, makeshift line struggled at times.
Julian Edelman/N’Keal Harry – New England’s top two returning wide receivers from a year ago were ghosts against Denver. Neither had much of a positive impact on the game. Harry was not targeted until the second half, a pass that resulted in a Newton interception. Edelman didn’t have a catch until the second half. The duo finished to combine for just two catches and 8 yards, all from Edelman. Harry had no catches on two targets, including Newton’s final, failed fourth-down throw of the day. Edelman actually had more success as a passer, completing two throws for 38 yards to White and a throwback to Newton.
Run defense – The Broncos got yards in bunches on the ground all afternoon. Phillip Lindsay led the way with 23 rushes for 101 yards, with Melvin Gordon back in Denver inactive due to strep throat. Overall the Broncos had 135 yards rushing on 37 attempts. You don’t win a lot of games in the NFL when you allow the other team to run the ball nearly 40 times. The run defense in New England has been a concern through six weeks.