It’s been evident since the offseason that the Patriots don’t have a clear and obvious No. 1 wide receiver. As such the top roles in Mac Jones’ scuffling passing attack are seemingly a work in progress and that was the case once again on Sunday afternoon in the 21-17 loss to the Raiders.
JuJu Smith-Schuster was inactive due to a concussion. Kayshon Boutte was a healthy scratch. Wide receiver and newly-minted backup QB Malik Cunningham was signed from the practice squad. Tyquan Thornton was active for the first time after opening the season on IR.
While Devante Parker continued to see a high number of snaps – including on the field for his critical drop on a deep ball that thwarted a New England comeback attempt in the closing minutes – it was Kendrick Bourne who stepped up and took the lead role for the passing attack.
Bourne’s 56 snaps (93 percent) were the most for any Patriots player other than the starting line or Jones. And he made the most of his season-high playtime percentage, to the tune of 10 catches on 11 targets for 89 yards, by far Jones’ favorite target.
No other New England receiver was able to have a positive impact. Parker had just one catch for 7 yards in 45 snaps (75 percent).
Thornton had just one catch for 6 yards in 25 snaps (42 percent).
Practice squad promotion Jalen Reagor even saw the field for 14 snaps (23 percent), although he was not targeted by Jones.
With all the injuries and personnel changes around him, Bourne’s reps, production and consistency was easily the story of the wide receiver position in Las Vegas.
Beyond Bourne’s relatively big day against the Raiders, here are a few other notes from the Patriots snap counts in Las Vegas.
--New England was on the field for 60 offensive snaps against the Raiders. The only players to log all 60 snaps were the starting offensive line of Trent Brown, Atonio Mafi, David Andrews, Sidy Sow and Vederian Lowe. Andrews remains the only New England offensive player who has played every snap through six games of action.
--With New England mixing in some packages on offense with Cunningham, Jones was on the field for 57 snaps (95 percent). His rookie backup logged just six snaps (10 percent), his only statistic a 5-yard sack.
--Despite missing some time to head and ankle injuries suffered on the first carry of the third quarter, Rhamondre Stevenson led the backfield with 39 snaps (65 percent). Elsewhere in the backfield, Ezekiel Elliott played 23 snaps (38 percent), in line with his overall playing time for the season. The veteran found the end zone for the first time in his New England career on a 2-yard Wildcat run to close out the opening drive of the third quarter.
--Hunter Henry (37 snaps, 62 percent) and Mike Gesicki (36 snaps, 60 percent) saw nearly identical playing time, the former getting banged up a bit at one point.
--The Patriots’ defense was on the field for 70 snaps, the third straight week the unit was on the field for at least 70 plays. Linebacker Ja’Whuan Bentley was the only defender to play all 70 snaps.
--In just his second week back in a New England uniform cornerback J.C. Jackson logged 67 snaps (96 percent), second-most on the unit.
--Twenty different defensive players saw at least two snaps against the Raiders, although rookie Marte Mapu was not one of them as the third-round pick did not step on the field other than on special teams.
Fifteen players saw the field for at least a quarter of the defensive snaps.
--Adrian Phillips, the veteran safety who’s seen his role on the defense shrink dramatically this season, played 12 snaps (17 percent), his second-lowest play time percentage of the year.
--Anfernee Jennings played a season- and career-high 57 snaps (81 percent). It’s the fourth straight week Jennings has seen his playing time grow, in part due to injuries to Matthew Judon (IR) and Keion White, who left the Raiders game with a head injury after just eight snaps. Jennings finished the day with six tackles, second most on the New England defense.
--Matthew Slater, Brenden Schooler and Chris Board led the way with 22 snaps in the kicking game. They were followed closely on special teams by Phillips and Jahlani Tavai, who logged 21 plays in the third phase.
Thank you to MacFarlane Energy, a Mitsubishi Diamond Elite contractor, and the home heating oil and HVAC company that greater Boston and Cape Cod depend on at MacFarlaneEnergy.com.