To repurpose late coach Dennis Green’s meme-worthy rant, the Patriots are who we thought they were!
New England confirmed in its season-opening, 25-20 loss to the Eagles at Gillette Stadium Sunday evening pretty much everything that was said about them all offseason and summer.
What that was, exactly, is up to the individual. These post-Tom Brady days in New England it seems football analysis, like beauty, is very much in the eye of the beholder.
Let’s start with Mac Jones. If you previously believed that Jones has the potential to be a high-level passer who’ll see the benefits of living life in Bill O’Brien’s world of offense then you probably felt pretty good about the totality of what you saw against Philly. Jones completed 35 of 54 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns. During the second quarter he completed 11 straight throws over the course of consecutive scoring drives that may have been his best stretch of play in his two-plus NFL seasons.
But, if you are a Mac Jones Hater, you also collected plenty of point-proving fuel in the opener. There was the poor early throw to Kendrick Bourne that deflected for a pick-6 interception to Darius Slay, a 70-yard return that saw the most vocal of critics skewer Jones’ effort to tackle the talented defender. There were certainly also times where Jones’ arm strength didn’t seem up to the challenge or the conditions. You also saw Jones get the ball back twice in the closing minutes and fail to execute a would-be game-winning scoring drive, the things that franchise QBs are simply expected to get done at some point in time.
If you’re a believer in the Patriots’ defense, that the unit could be one of the elite in the game in 2023, you certainly feel emboldened this opening overreaction Monday to kick off the NFL season. The group essentially held Jalen Hurts and Co. to four field goals if you take away the points off turnovers. It forced the Eagles into four-straight three-and-outs in the second quarter as Jones and the offense were hitting their comeback stride.
The feisty unit fielded by Jerod Mayo and Steve Belichick utilized a Jabrill Peppers’ forced fumble on Hurts and a Christian Gonzalez fourth-down pass defense to give their offense multiple chances to pull off the comeback upset.
But if you’re a believer in the idea that the post-Brady Patriots are a poorly coached team that makes too many mistakes at key points to lose close games, Sunday’s effort only worked to buff up your beliefs. There were obviously the game-changing early turnovers. There were the defensive penalties on Deatrich Wise and Kyle Dugger to keep scoring drives alive. There was the poor late-game offensive execution, including a can’t-happen delay of game on fourth down as well as foot-shooting holding penalties. Before you can win in the NFL, you have to avoid losing. We’ve all heard Belichick say that more than we probably needed to over the years. Unfortunately, in recent years his team hasn’t played that way.
The back-and-forth can go on and on after Sunday’s hard-fought comeback effort against a team with superior talent and seasonal aspirations.
The Patriots coulda, shoulda, woulda won. But didn’t.
Is it Moral Victory Monday in New England yet again, a common occurrence over the last three-plus seasons?
Or, is it more of a Confirmation Monday, as Belichick’s team confirmed what so many seemed to think of it, for better or worse?
Either way, you get to decide. And the Patriots will get the chance to prove your point, one way or the other, again this coming Sunday night against the explosive Dolphins at Gillette Stadium.
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