What a difference a month has made for the Patriots.
On Oct. 21 the Patriots were 2-4 and at the time were in line for a top-10 pick in the NFL Draft. Fast forward a month, the Patriots have won five games in a row, are 7-4 and currently leading the AFC East and are the No. 3 seed in the conference.
The defense has been the unit that’s led the turnaround.
Over the first six games, the Patriots defense allowed an average of 21.2 points per game and forced eight turnovers — four of which came in Week 2 against the Jets. Over the last five games, the defense has allowed an average of 10 points per game and has forced 13 turnovers.
There’s no doubt the defense is the superior of the two units, but that was expected going into the year with a rookie quarterback and what the Patriots offense had surrounding him.
For as much as the defense has done the last month-plus of the season, how the rest of the year, and potentially the playoffs, go will be on the shoulders of Mac Jones.
If he continues to play well, the Patriots have a good chance of playing deep into January. If he doesn’t, or is even just pedestrian, the Patriots may run into trouble against good teams and especially in the playoffs.
While Jones has been terrific the entire season and has easily been the best rookie quarterback of his class, he’s shown signs of getting thrown off his game and getting frustrated, especially in the second half against Atlanta.
Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees dialed up a few well-timed blitzes that took the Patriots rookie and the offense off their game. Expect the better teams in the AFC, namely the Titans and Bills, who the Patriots play each of the next two games, to try and replicate some of that.
And Atlanta has the 20th ranked defense in the league. Tennessee comes in at No. 14, while Buffalo is No. 1.
Jones will be tested more so than ever over the final six games of a season. It should also be pointed out that he’s never played this many games in a season before and that could potentially lead to more issues than earlier in the season.
Having a good defense and a solid running game certainly helps win big games, but it can’t be the only thing. As the Patriots know first-hand with Julian Edelman over the years, a go-to playmaker on offense is imperative and the Patriots don’t really have that.
With that being said, it will be on Jones’ shoulders to try and turn Hunter Henry or Jakobi Meyers into one for those critical got-to-have-it big passing plays.
No rookie quarterback has ever led his team to the Super Bowl, and there’s a reason for that. It’s very hard to do.
In order for the Patriots to finish the season at the top of the conference and make a potential run in the postseason, it’s going to be up to Jones as a defense can only take a team so far.
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