FOXBOROUGH – Last week former Patriots Super Bowl champion captain Rodney Harrison declared on WEEI that not only is New England QB Mac Jones “a little overwhelmed” at this point in his first NFL season but that he’s also hit the infamous, unforgiving “rookie wall.”
After Sunday’s 33-21 loss to the Bills at Gillette Stadium, with Jones throwing a pair of interceptions for the second straight week on the way to a season-worst 31.4 passer rating, those descriptions ring even more true this Christmas weekend.
But in falling to Buffalo in what was essentially a battle for the AFC East, the Patriots’ problems these days are far from only about the team’s No. 15 overall pick passer.
A New England team that cruised into its Week 14 bye on a seven-game winning streak sitting in the No. 1 seed slot in the conference has now lost consecutive games for the first time since Week 4. It’s not playing good football in really any area. And at 9-6, suddenly winning out over the next two weeks against Jacksonville and in the season finale in Miami are a virtual must for a spot in the postseason.
Sure, maybe Jones hit the rookie wall and isn’t playing nearly as well in recent weeks. But so, too, has his team hit the post-bye wall with consecutive losses that included turnovers, dumb penalties, special teams snafus and a defense that couldn’t get off the field or get the key plays it needed.
“We have to find a way to do better,” a hoarse Bill Belichick said in his postgame press conference.
It’s a simple but incredibly accurate statement, and is far from just about his rookie QB or his late-season struggles.
Jones clearly has not been good in recent weeks. His completion percentage has gone down in four straight games after he connected on just 44 percent against Buffalo. His passer rating has dropped in three straight. After throwing just eight interceptions in the first 13 games, he’s given away four in the last two. And the Patriots are 0-3 on the season in games in which the rook throws multiple picks.
“I think we just need to execute better,” Jones said after watching his counterpart Josh Allen throw for 314 yards and three scores while rushing for a team-best 64 yards. “It really just wasn't our day. But there's no excuses and there's really nothing to talk about. I didn't play great. I can play better and I can lead a lot better. It starts with me, so we'll just have to look in the mirror and address what we can and just keep working to get better every day.”
As much as Jones may have hit a rookie wall, his entire team has fallen on its collective face after getting some time to supposedly reset for a stretch run. The last two weeks of been disappointing. Alarming. Ugly. A reality check. A wakeup call. Of the many ways to describe the loss at Indianapolis and Sunday’s failure in Foxborough, none are positive.
While Jones and the offense got off to a slow start with a game opening three-and-out, Buffalo never punted once. New England’s defense didn’t have any answers for Allen or his favorite target on the day, Isaiah McKenzie and his 11 receptions for 125 yards and a score. Star target Stephon Diggs “only” had seven catches for 85 yards and a score of his own.
The defense that got run all over by Jonathan Taylor last Saturday night coming out of the bye in Indy was helpless in both coverage and pass rush against Allen’s aerial assault. New England never sacked Allen, hit him just four times and couldn’t haul in a couple interception opportunities.
“It’s too late in the season not to play your best football. I would say these last two weeks have come down to that,” Devin McCourty said of the sudden slide. “We’re playing against teams that are playing the way you are supposed to be playing in late December. We gotta play better. I’ll say both games there’s not one thing that needs to be fixed. It’s overall everybody just playing a little bit better. Units playing better. And we’re not doing it. It’s not like it’s just all bad and we’re getting killed, but when we need to make a play we’re not making those plays. It’s just not good enough.
“For what’s left of the season, we’re guaranteed two more games. And that’s it. That’s how we have to approach it. That’s the mentality and mindset we need to have. And if not, this season won’t end the way we want.”
Mentality has been a buzz word in New England this year. When the Patriots were 2-4 they approached it like they were better than their record. And then proved just that. When they were on a winning streak much of the talk was about not getting complacent and keeping the “2-4 mentality.” Now they’ve fallen their face a little bit.
But with two weeks to play and the season somewhat suddenly hanging in the balance the priorities for the coming days and weeks are simple.
“The time for talking you know is just…talk, talk…we have to execute, we have to be better. That’s really what it comes down to. It just come down to execution,” a clearly disappointed David Andrews said.
“Just play better,” Kyle Van Noy agreed. “I can sit up here and talk all day about yadda, yadda, yadda. But at the end of the day we just have to go produce. Talk less and play more.”
Sounds simple and over the course of the seven-game winning streak it may have looked that way at times for what was once thought of as a serious Super Bowl contender. But when you are stumbling down the stretch the way New England has the last two weeks the simple idea of playing better can almost feel like an insurmountable challenge for a football team, although a visit from the two-win Jaguars might help. And while there’s plenty to question from the Patriots recent performances, including the rookie quarterback Jones, fresh off his 103-yard, three-touchdown effort Damien Harris made it clear there is no wavering in the team’s own confidence. In fact, McCourty alluded to the team’s mid-season turnaround as evidence of its still-fruitful hopes.
“It comes down to we have to play winning football,” McCourty declared. “That’s what it is. I think we know we can do it. I guess we can take that from it. There is just nothing to talk about, we just gotta go do it. It’s that point in the season where you either get it done or you don’t.”
The Patriots certainly haven’t gotten it done the last two weeks. And their rookie quarterback is far from the only guy responsible for the losing.
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