4 studs and 2 duds from the Patriots loss against the Commanders

Any hope of a late-season turnaround went to the toilet on Sunday when the Patriots lost game at home to the Commanders 20-17. Washington, who traded away their two most valuable players less than a week ago, came to Gillette and upset New England.

It wasn’t a pretty game for the Patriots on any side of the ball. The refs didn’t help the cause, but the Patriots are struggling to pull out a satisfactory game this season.

Let’s examine the studs and duds for the Patriots in Week 9, with a little twist. The duds go first.

Duds

Mac Jones

There’s no questioning whether that loss was entirely on Mac Jones. It simply wasn’t. However, Jones yet again came up short when his team needed him. Although there were costly drops (Jalen Reagor and JuJu Smith-Schuster), he didn’t perform well against one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL.

Jones finished 24/44 for 220 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Like previous weeks, Jones struggled early and missed a wide-open Tyquan Thornton on a crucial third down in the first quarter. He followed up with an ugly miss to Rhamondre Stevenson on the following drive. He constantly underthrew receivers, and the Commanders could’ve had at least two more turnovers. The game-ending interception sealed the game for the Patriots. If Jones is the franchise quarterback for the Patriots – you have to find a way to overcome obstacles. Mac wasn’t good enough.

2022 draft class

Starting with 2022 second-round pick Tyquan Thornton, who only played 12 snaps, the 2022 draft class didn’t have a good showing on Sunday. Thornton was seemingly benched after the Patriot’s third offensive drive, but it’s unclear if his benching was due to injury or performance. The time is running out for the former Baylor receiver to bring any value to the team, as the Patriots are still looking for a game-changing wideout. Along with Thornton, Sam Roberts was a healthy scratch and hasn’t had a productive season. Zappe hasn’t looked like a quality backup this season, and Jack Jones was benched to start the game. Not great.

Special teams 

Special teams had a field day on Sunday, and not for the right reason. For starters, special teamer Brenden Schooler got flagged twice on punt returns, including a costly 10-yard holding penalty. In addition, Mack Wilson made an uncharacteristic mistake when the refs spotted him offsides on fourth-and-2 with 2:41 left in the game. It was unclear if he was in the neutral zone or not, but nevertheless, the Commanders were awarded a first down, and the Patriots had to burn two timeouts because of the flag. Furthermore, Ty Montgomery was also flagged for holding, which negated a 19-yard punt return from Demario Douglas. So yeah, not a great day for the unit.

Studs

Rhamondre Stevenson

After weeks of not looking like his 2022 self, Stevenson tallied 87 rushing yards on nine carries, averaging 9.7 an attempt. Mondre also had the biggest score of the game when he ran for 64 yards. Stevenson’s run was the Patriot’s longest play from scrimmage this season and the longest run since Damien Harris ran to the house against the Bills in Week 13 of the 2021 season. Along with his running ability, Stevenson helped out in the passing game and finished with 42 yards. Stevensonn has yet to have a 100-yard rushing game this year, but that could change shortly.

LB Jahlani Tavai

Tavai was solid all across the board and has quietly excelled this season. He made a great play to punch the ball out for a forced fumble in the first half, which led to a Patriots touchdown. At the time of the fumble, the Patriots’ offense looked broken, and although it didn’t get much better, the fumble helped tremendously. Although Tavai isn’t making jaw-dropping plays, he’s one of the more impressive players on the Patriots defense and has been a bright spot thus far.