It’ll be good moving on from the brutal 38-3 Week 4 loss to the Dallas Cowboys and shifting focus to a more manageable Week 5 matchup with the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
But nothing will come easy, even in a potential bounce-back game for the Patriots.
Buy Patriots TicketsIt will still be an uphill battle with them needing to make adjustments against a tough defensive team with an offense that is clearly underperforming. The Saints are still loaded with weapons at receiver and running back regardless of their past struggles.
Here are three keys to victory for the Patriots heading into the game:
The offensive line must block better
I cannot stress this enough.
The Patriots’ offensive line ranks as one of the worst lines in all of football, and it continues to fluster Mac Jones to the point where he can barely step into throws and utilize his skills as a pocket passer.
Last week, Jones decided to put it all on himself and had poor mechanics. Frankly, he does not have the arm talent or athleticism to do that all game and get away with it.
There is nothing wrong with being an elite pocket passer and decision-maker. The Patriots had one for nearly 20 years with Tom Brady. But of course, Jones is not Brady, and he needs a supporting cast that is in the top-half of the league if he wants to even sniff an AFC Championship game.
With that being said, Jones will not lose games like he did last week, if the offensive line gives him time to throw. He has been pressured 60 times in four games, which is the eighth highest pressure rate in the league.
Mac Jones needs to get back to his roots
Mac Jones played the worst game of his entire NFL career last week against Dallas. Regardless of the offensive line and receiver play, you cannot fundamentally change who you are as a player, reverting to high school-level mechanics and expecting to win the game.
I have been a big Jones supporter, but last week was not what you want from your former first-round quarterback. Jones needs to play turnover-free football, get back to his excellent mechanics and use his best skill as a decision-maker.
If he can tune out what happens around him, play mistake-free football and take what the defense gives him, I am confident the Patriots have enough to win this game. If they want to make a run or control the game, they need to have their skilled players play much better.
Explosive plays will win the game
With Christian Gonzalez and Matthew Judon out for most of the year, if not the entire season, we’re now faced with the reality that the Patriots defense is not as good as it once was.
The team acquired J.C. Jackson this week, but even with Jackson, the defense will have concerns with their cornerback depth. It will be a tough battle trying to slow down Saints wideouts Michael Thomas and Chris Olave.
The Patriots need to realize that Juju Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker have frankly not earned their snap counts at this point. They need to give their reps to Demario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, Mike Gesicki and Kayshon Boutte, who has been a healthy scratch the last few weeks.
The team clearly lacks separators. Their receivers are averaging 1.9 yards of separation per route, when the league average is 2.6. Add that to the fact that Mac Jones is one of the top-10 most pressured quarterbacks this year, and it’s clearly not a good situation.
Belichick needs to stay true to his word and let players that have earned it play in these games. Play the kids.
