FOXBOROUGH -- Mac Jones took the field to a loud ovation Sunday evening for his NFL debut against the Dolphins. Though the rookie played well enough to win, New England came up just short with a 17-16 loss to Miami.
Here’s a look at some of the personnel highs and lows from the season-opening defeat at the hands of the Dolphins:
Thumbs up
Mac Jones – The Mac Jones Era has begun! The rookie No. 15 pick completed his first six passes of his career debut as he spread the ball around in the short passing game. After a first half that was a bit of a struggle for both teams, with a handful of mistakes, Jones gave the Patriots the 10-7 lead late in the second quarter with his first career touchdown pass on a 7-yard throw to Nelson Agholor. He drove to a field goal to pull within 17-13 in the third quarter, with maybe his best throw of the day part of the drive as he dropped a ball in James White’s bucket down the right side for a 26-yard gain. Jones actually drove his team into position to potentially win the game in the fourth quarter, only to see things fall apart with the Damien Harris fumble. Jones looked comfortable running the traditional Patriots spread attack in the second half and finished completing 29 of 39 passes for 281 yards with the one touchdown and no interceptions in a performance that was good enough to get a win.
Josh Uche – The second-year edge defender ran over Dolphins left tackle Austin Jackson on the way to a key sack of Tua Tagovailoa on third-and-5 in late in the second quarter. Uche saw rotational action throughout the game in various personnel packages, but there is no question he brings playmaking potential and explosive play to the edge of the defense.
Kyle Van Noy – In his first game back in New England and first game against his former Miami team, Van Noy made an impact. He had a 10-yard sack of Tagovailoa in the first quarter to force a Dolphins punt and celebrated exuberantly afterwards. Van Noy also had a pass deflection that wiped out what would have been a pass interference call in the back end of the defense. The versatile veteran’s unique skills were on display as he finished with three tackles to go along with the big plays.
Thumbs down
Rhamondre Stevenson – The rookie running back fumbled on his first NFL reception in the first quarter, losing the ball as he went to the turf in a play that was confirmed by replay. In the second quarter, with Harris on the sideline after losing his helmet a player earlier, Stevenson was blown up and run over by blitzing linebacker Elandon Roberts in pass protection.
Roberts was actually called for roughing the passer on his would-be sack for hitting Jones low, but it was two poor plays early in the first game of his NFL debut that Stevenson will have to learn from if he wants to continue to see playing time in a deep backfield. He did not see the field again on offense in the second half.
Trent Brown/Tackle depth – Given the history of their starters missing time in recent years, one of the questions surrounding the Patriots heading into the season was a lack of depth at tackle. The issue came to the forefront in the first quarter of the opener against Miami when right tackle Trent Brown left with a right calf injury. The pushed second-year backup Justin Herron into action for the remainder of the day. Herron had a key holding call to wipe out a 33-yard Jones completion in the third quarter. Brown was listed as questionable for a return, but did not play the rest of the day. One week in and the Patriots top-heavy offensive line that’s supposed to be the strength of the offense is dealing with injury.
Penalties – The fumbles and penalties will probably be the two biggest issues Patriots coaches have with what was otherwise a gritty, competitive season-opening effort. New England was flagged eight times for 84 yards on the evening, wiping out a number key plays in the process, many of the flags coming on the offensive side of the ball. New England’s margin for error will clearly be small with a rookie quarterback under center, so cleaning up the flags will certainly be a focus of Bill Belichick and his players moving forward.
