The New England Patriots got embarrassed in a way that wouldn’t be believed possible if video evidence of their fourth-quarter meltdown against the Las Vegas Raiders didn’t exist.
If the outcome of Sunday’s game didn’t unnerve Patriots owner Robert Kraft, I don’t know what else it would take. They haven’t just looked bad, but they’ve looked utterly incompetent at times on the football field.
Yes, the truth hurts, but Kraft can no longer just grin and bear it. Now is the time to march right into coach Bill Belichick’s office and start making some demands. The Death Star has landed, and The Imperial March stopped playing a long time ago for the man once heralded as Darth Belichick by his contemporaries.
Change needs to come from Kraft, with or without Belichick.
It would be easy to lay the blame at the feet of Matt Patricia, the former defensive coordinator that was suddenly handed the offensive play-calling sheet. We could even put the onus on the players. Long snapper Joe Cardona’s bad snap caused the blocked punt that setup and easy touchdown for the Raiders. And Meyers committed one of the worst turnovers in franchise history.
What just happened?? The @Raiders win on the final play!! #NEvsLV pic.twitter.com/cmKNUuab1k
— NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2022
People were literally laughing at the Patriots, and I’m not talking about the self-indulgent crackles from those wanting to see the storied franchise outplayed in a football game.
They were laughing at New England’s ineptitude.
The greatest franchise in NFL history with the greatest coach suddenly looked like the dumbest team in the league.
The Patriots are just a dumb team this year. Pathetic. @CBSSportsRadio pic.twitter.com/LxlfLqfnig
— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) December 19, 2022
Belichick was the one that allowed the Patriots to try and get another offensive play off with only three seconds left in the game, instead of kneeling and taking the Raiders into overtime. He is the culprit behind the season-long offensive kerfuffle for handing Patricia the play-calling reins, along with making him the primary overseer of the struggling offensive line.
The Patriots had every opportunity to bring in an experienced offensive coordinator, but Belichick seemingly has a preference for hiring in-house coaches.
How’s that working out for him this season?
New England has gone from being a top-10 team in scoring and red zone offense to one of the worst units in the league. After Sunday’s loss, the Patriots are now dead last in red zone scoring percentage (37.4).
Belichick can’t simply be allowed to run back this mess of a situation in 2023. If the original is this bad, the sequel would be an outright catastrophe.
Patricia should hand over his offensive play-calling sheet at the end of the season, and the Patriots need to dedicate time to finding a legitimate offensive coordinator that can undo the regression this team helped cause for second-year quarterback Mac Jones.
Belichick can either hop aboard the Kraft train or hop off, but some serious changes must be made for the betterment of the team.
It’s time for the Patriots to stop neglecting the offensive side of the ball. Just plugging Patricia in to do multiple offensive jobs at once was never going to work. There are no cheat sheets in an AFC East division that’s as competitive as it’s ever been. Josh Allen and Tua Tagovailoa are both franchise quarterbacks armed to the teeth with offensive firepower.
Yet, Jones is playing behind a shoddy offensive line with a receiving unit that has defensive back Marcus Jones (1) with nearly as many touchdowns as the Patriots’ leading receiver, Jakobi Meyers (3).
Belichick has had ample time and opportunity to build his post-Tom Brady image of the Patriots, and so far, it has been a complete failure. Sure, they made the playoffs last season, but they were wiped off the face of the Earth in a 47-17 loss in the first round to the Buffalo Bills.
This Patriots team is spinning its wheels, and it’s no longer getting better with Belichick micromanaging everything. Who thought the day would come when the organization that delivered six Lombardi Trophies in less than two decades would be the laughingstock of the NFL?
If change won’t come from Belichick, it must come from Kraft.
