Week 13 Patriots positional report card

Following the New England Patriots 24-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills, I will dive deeply into how each of the position groups performed. The offense and special teams struggled, while the defense bent but didn’t break. Here is a look at position grades from Week 13:

Quarterbacks: C

Mac Jones admitted the Patriots wanted to run the ball and have a game plan of quick, short passes. However, these “short passes” don’t make sense when you’re down multiple possessions, which is why the Patriots’ offense has struggled as of late. On the game’s first play, Mac Jones and Rhamondre Stevenson botched a hand-off, bringing the punt team on the field after a quick three-and-out. Later in the game, Mac Jones was scrambling on third down and was intercepted by Jordan Poyer (eventually overturned because Poyer didn’t maintain possession). After throwing for a career-high 382 yards the previous week, Jones only threw for 195 yards, completing 22 of 36 passes on one touchdown. Amazon TV cameras caught Mac Jones using some profanity on the bench. It seemed as if Jones said, “Throw the f——g ball! The f—–g run game sucks ! F–k!” After talking with reporters after the game, Jones said, “Obviously, I kind of let my emotions get to me. What I said was throwing it deeper instead of the short game … I felt like we needed chunk plays.”

Running backs B

Without Damien Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson took the full workload, playing 53 out of 54 offensive snaps. His numbers didn’t shine as much as in previous weeks, as he ran for 54 yards on ten carries. Stevenson is on pace to finish with 1,040 rushing yards, which would be the first Patriots running back to reach 1,000 yards since Legarete Blount finished with 1,161 yards in 2016. However, Stevenson did fumble the ball early in the game and wasn’t on the same page with Jones, which caused an additional fumble. The Patriots’ recipe for success is running the football well, and in recent weeks the run game hasn’t looked sharp.

Wide receivers C-

The Patriots’ leading receiver Thursday night was cornerback Marcus Jones. That sums up how the passing game went. Early in the first quarter Marcus Jones caught a screen pass from Mac Jones and took it 48 yards to score a touchdown. Jones has already scored on a punt return and is shaping up to be one of the most versatile players in the NFL and the most adaptable player on the Patriots. The receivers couldn’t seem to get open and had costly drops. Jones often had to scramble or throw a checkdown, as no receiver could get open. The Patriots also struggled on third down, which led to boos from the crowd most of the game.

Tight ends C-

After an efficient game last week, the Patriots’ tight ends returned to their usual selves and remained quiet most of the game. Hunter Henry finished the game with two receptions for 13 yards, and Jonnu Smith caught two catches for six yards. Both of these tight ends should have more impact in their second year, and their lack of usage could be due to the questionable play calling from Matt Patricia. The pair of tight ends on the season have caught 47 passes for 536 yards.

Offensive line D+

The Patriots’ offensive line had another rough time against a tough Bills front. Although the line only allowed one sack, they had blocking issues all night, and Mac had to scramble on plenty of throws. In addition, every Patriots lineman besides Michael Onwenu was flagged for holding. Newly acquired tackle Connor McDermott had a rough outing in his first Patriots start this season. The offensive line has been hit hard with injuries this season, but the uncharacteristic penalties and pressures hurt the unit more than ever. Rookie Cole Strange hasn’t been performing like a first-round pick, and the O-line needs to produce better for Mac Jones and the receivers to succeed.

Defensive line B

Although the defensive line didn’t perform spectacularly, they held the number one scoring offense in check. The Bills were last in the league in run attempts per game but handed the ball off 29 times. The Patriots held Buffalo to 3.6 yards per attempt and held Josh Allen to 20 yards. Davon Godchaux had his best game of the season, with ten tackles. They will play top tier rushing teams in the next couple of weeks, starting with Quarterback Kyler Murray next. The defensive line did everything it could to set the Patriots up for success.

Linebackers B-

Josh Uche and Matthew Judon continued their dominant pass rush, and it worked. Uche continues his career breakout year with seven sacks in the last five games. However, Matthew Judon has 0 sacks in the last two games. Josh Uche also had a strip sack on Josh Allen, which gave the Patriots hope at the end of the half. In addition, Uche had a quarterback hit and seven tackles. I predicted Mack Wilson would play the quarterback spy role on Josh Allen – he played ten snaps. The Patriots played with fewer linebackers on the field, Jahlani Tavai played just 14 snaps, and Raekwon McMillian played 10.

Secondary C-

This was a tough game for the secondary, and it showed. During the off-season, the hope was the Patriots would stop Buffalo with speed at the linebacker position. Instead of this game, they used many formations involving three safeties on the field. Devin McCourty played 75 snaps, Kyle Dugger 74 snaps, Adrian Phillips 35 snaps, and Jabrill Peppers 28 snaps. All had big roles in stopping the Buffalo offense. Kyle Dugger had a crucial dropped interception in the first half but had a quarterback hit. Peppers had one tackle for loss, and McCourty wasn’t in the right position for a long James Cook run. The cornerbacks had their hands full, keeping up with Buffalo’s skilled players as Jonathan Jones played the full game but allowed two touchdowns. Jack Jones (57 snaps), Myles Bryant (34), and Marcus Jones (34) were on the field a lot as well. The Secondary get a C- for their penalty flags, including a pass interference on third down.

Special teams D

Nick Folk is human after missing three field goals in the last three weeks. Against Buffalo, he missed a 48-yarder before halftime, which would have made it a one-possession game. Furthermore, the Patriots couldn’t snap the ball in time on a punt in the first half, and DaMarcus Mitchell got called with a hold on a kick return. The easy inexcusable penalties have to be cleaned up. Marcus Jones averaged 21.7 yards per kick return but didn’t return a single punt.

The Patriots now turn their attention to the Arizona Cardinals as they head West for a two-week trip.

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