The best word to describe Saturday’s Week 17 game between the Patriots and Chargers is “soggy.”
Listen live as 6 Rings Postgame Show reacts:
The on-and-off rain made for a wet field the entire game, and contributed to a sparsely-filled Gillette Stadium that featured Foxborough Faithful with palpable disdain for their team’s on-field product in 2024.
The New England offense looked water-logged, completely incapable of putting together a coherent drive while their future franchise quarterback ran for his life all game long.
And for the defense, it was as if the unit was attempting to defend while standing in an above-ground pool - moving slowly, and with the agility of a learn-to-swim student wearing oversized floaties.
The whole thing was soggy, and it was even more unenjoyable than last year’s game between LA and New England at Gillette that ended with a score of 6-0.
I didn’t think that would ever be possible, but here we are.
Saturday’s 40-7 loss for New England marks the Patriots’ second six-game losing streak of the 2024 season.
Their first six-game losing streak (Week 2 to Week 7) marked the longest losing streak the franchise had seen since 1993, and the longest under the Kraft family’s ownership.
Ten weeks later, they’ve matched that historic futility.
With one game remaining on the 2024 slate, New England has a chance to best that mark.
Oh joy.
Here are your “Ups & Downs” for Week 17:
Some Ups, Some Downs:
- Drake Maye: Yes, we’ll get to Maye’s almost-concussion in a bit.
But let’s start here:
He might not think he has a turnover problem, but when the evidence becomes overwhelming, at a certain point it doesn’t really matter what he thinks.
After returning from a one-series absence while being evaluated for a possible concussion in the locker room, Maye was responsible for yet another backwards pass turnover which goes down on the statsheet as a lost fumble.
On 2nd and 3 from the Chargers 45 yard line, Maye took the snap and started running to his right. While doing so, DeMario Douglas cut behind him for what looked like a nifty reverse play from Alex Van Pelt.
It ended up only being nifty in theory, as Maye attempted a no-look drop-pitch that went off the mark. Douglas couldn’t handle the errant pass, and the Chargers scooped up the ball for an 11-yard fumble recovery.
Nine plays later, Justin Herbert was tossing a ball to Ladd McConkey for his second touchdown of the day, and the Chargers were up 17-0 with 2:55 to go in the second quarter.
That makes 16 turnovers for the rookie out of North Carolina - six lost fumbles, and 10 interceptions.
But as we’ve seen with Maye since he took over the starting job in Week 6, you have to take the good with the bad.
On the following offensive possession, Maye was continuing to show that he was unafraid to run the ball despite his head injury from earlier in the day (I promise we’ll get there).
On 2nd and 6 from the Chargers 48, Maye turned a would-be sack into a 12-yard gain, giving his team a fresh set of downs and some juice to put points on the board down three scores.
One play later, Maye was under pressure yet again, and tossed a pop up to the middle of the field right at the goal line.
Admittedly, I said “oh boy” out loud when that ball left his hands. It looked like a Mac Jones-lollipop, and I was bracing myself for Maye’s 17th turnover of the season.
To my surprise, no Chargers defenders turned their backs in time, and Douglas was able to get under the ball for a 36-yard touchdown.
Maye may have gotten away with one, but it was yet another example of what Maye’s arm talent and escapability can do for you on plays that otherwise would seem broken.
Unfortunately for Maye, his first half turnover coupled with a whole lotta nothing from the rest of the offense was not enough to get the 22-year-old all the way into “Ups” for Week 17.
Ups:
- N/A
A first for this season.
Wow, that was awful.
Downs:
- Offensive Line: Sure, he came back in the game.
But anytime your bad blocking leads to your QB missing a series for a possible concussion, you’re going to end up in the “Downs” category.
Let’s break down the play that almost led to Maye’s second stint this season on the concussion protocol:
On the opening drive of the game, Maye was already under duress.
On 3rd and 4 for the New England 43, Maye was flushed out of the pocket, and decided to try to pick up the first down on his own.
As he scampered up the right sideline, he was met at the boundary by Chargers corner Cam Hart, who hurled his body at Maye’s outside shoulder. Maye, attempting to spin back towards the field to make a play, took Hart’s shoulder right to the side of his spinning head. Not only was it a three-and-out for the offense after the 2-yard sack, but the Patriots’ rookie QB was injured on the play.
After laying on his back for a few moments after the play had ended, Maye was helped off the field and into the blue medical tent for an evaluation.
Midway through the Chargers’ next offensive drive, Maye was heading from the tent back to the locker room with some members of the New England medical staff.
Shortly thereafter, he was announced as questionable to return with a head injury.
Luckily for New England, Maye only ended up missing one series.
Crisis averted.
I don’t want to go through and document all the close calls that Maye bailed the offensive line out on in this one, because it felt like the young QB was under pressure the entire game. This column would literally just become a play-by-play breakdown, and there’s all sorts of box score sections on various websites where you can go for that.
The near-concussion is everything you need to know about how this O-line fared on Saturday.
Also of note - New England picked up little on the ground until Antonio Gibson racked up some yardage in garbage time. Rhamondre Stevenson had a grand total of one yard on the ground.
Pass blocking? Bad.
Run blocking? Also bad.
- Defense: The Los Angeles Chargers completely controlled the pace of this game, scoring on almost every offensive possession.
They dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for 40:34 with the Patriots only managing a measly 19:26.
Look at the breakdown on these scoring drives for LA while Herbert was still in the game:
- 11 plays, 91 yards, 6:12 off the clock
- 12 plays, 67 yards, 6:43 off the clock
- 9 plays, 44 yards, 5:40 off the clock
- 10 plays, 94 yards, 5:20 off the clock
- 4 plays, 0 yards, 19 seconds off the clock (this came after turnover on downs by the Patriots where Maye took a 15-yard sack to set-up LA with the ball on the New England 23…I know it’s not a long drive, but I wanted to make sure it got a mention in “Downs”)
- 10 plays, 63 yards, 5:20 off the clock
I cannot point to one phase of New England’s defense that looked competent on Saturday.
Would anyone be surprised if defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington was out of a job on Monday?
- Eliot Wolf: Ladd McConkey’s box score on Saturday:
8 catches on 10 targets for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Ja’Lynn Polk’s box score on Saturday:
0 catches on 1 target for 0 yards and 0 touchdowns.
For those of you that saw this obvious outcome coming from a mile away, congratulations on cashing your anytime touchdown scorer tickets (+115).
It was a talking point in the days leading up to this one, and it played out in real time for all to see.
The Pats missed on yet another stud in favor of yet another dud.
INCOMPLETE:
- Christian Gonzalez: While one young stud for New England was able to avoid a concussion on Saturday, the other wasn’t so lucky.
Midway through the second quarter, the standout second-year cornerback was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a concussion.
Earlier in the half, Gonzalez was shaken up while tackling McConkey, hitting his head while taking down the rookie. Despite walking off under his own power to the blue medical tent, the Oregon-product eventually left the sidelines for the locker room and did not return.
I don’t know how much his presence on his own impacts what LA was able to accomplish offensively, but his injury is notable enough to warrant its own special section.
If I’m Jerod Mayo, I’m shutting Gonzalez down for the remainder of the season.
And with the 22-year-old likely entering the league’s concussion protocol, that decision is probably being made for him.
The Patriots (3-13) have one game remaining in this calamity of a season, hosting the Buffalo Bills (12-3) at Gillette Stadium in Week 18.
If they do, indeed, go on to lose their seventh straight game to close out the year, it will mark the first time they have won three games or fewer since 1992, and only the eighth time in franchise history the team will have won less than four games in a season.