No one expected things to go this way.
Sure, there were skeptics that believed the New England Patriots would ultimately crash and burn at the end of their 2023 run. But here we are, just eight games into the season, and it’s already over.
This team vehicle driven by coach Bill Belichick wasn’t even halfway down the track, and it has already flipped on its side, watching as the rest of the AFC East competitors wave goodbye in the smokey rearview.
It’s a weird place to be in for a franchise with six Super Bowl banners hanging from Gillette Stadium, but that’s exactly where the Patriots find themselves after Sunday’s 31-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Here are some leftover notes from the game:
Yes, the officiating was bad, but so are the Patriots
This was not a great game as far as officiating is concerned. The Dolphins are already a great enough team without having so many calls go their way in a football game. If this was akin to “David and Goliath”, it was more like David facing Goliath with a slingshot and one arm tied behind his back.
One of the most frustrating calls of the game was the pass interference call on cornerback J.C. Jackson, who already had a rough day, when in coverage on a 3rd-and-goal against Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill. It was a ticky-tack penalty flag that shouldn’t have been thrown, and it resulted into an extra set of downs and easy touchdown for Miami.
This play by J.C. Jackson was called for pass interference pic.twitter.com/K8LvTcogH5
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) October 29, 2023
Yet, perhaps the more egregious play was Dolphins safety DeShon Elliott’s helmet-to-helmet hit on wideout DeVante Parker that wasn’t even flagged by the officials. The play ended up knocking Parker out of the game with a head injury.
Huge hit from Deshon Elliott on DeVante Parker.
But was it legal? #Dolphins #Patriots pic.twitter.com/hujVksChSI
— Henry McKenna (@henrycmckenna) October 29, 2023
There were other missed calls by the crew, but at the same time, it’s hard to blame officiating when the Patriots clearly aren’t in the same class as the Dolphins. This assembled Miami team looks more explosive and competent, while the Patriots look slow and outdated.
Even if all of the calls went their way in this game, the result of them losing probably still would have been the same in the end.
The receiving corps went from bad to worse
The Patriots already had one of the worst receiving corps in the NFL coming into Sunday’s game, but thanks to the helmet-to-helmet hit on DeVante Parker and a knee injury suffered by Kendrick Bourne, the unit is much worse now.
Bourne could miss time with what is believed to be an MCL injury, and Parker could go into concussion protocol, which is always a tricky circumstance.
So the Patriots could be down to the likes of Demario Douglas, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jalen Reagor, Tyquan Thornton and Kayshon Boutte. It’s a sad state of things for a position that was never given the attention it desperately needed in the previous offseason.
Smith-Schuster’s run in New England has been a disappointment so far, and Thornton was a healthy scratch for the Dolphins game. Meanwhile, Boutte hasn’t even seen the field since the regular season opener, and Reagor is on his third NFL team in three years.
Douglas is the only viable option right now for quarterback Mac Jones behind an offensive line that couldn’t shield an elf in a snowstorm.
No quick fix to offensive line issues
If the Patriots expected the offensive line issues to simply go away with Mike Onwenu being switched to right tackle, they were served up a cold dish of humble pie by the Dolphins.
There is no quick fix to the Patriots’ offensive line issues. Bill Belichick can’t MacGyver his way out of this one.
The team needs to use the rest of the season as an evaluation to ultimately decide who stays and goes in 2024. Then they must take the necessary steps to rebuild the unit accordingly.
Mac Jones should go as a crash test dummy for Halloween because that’s basically what he is playing under center for the Patriots. He was under pressure throughout Sunday’s game against the Dolphins. At some point, a quarterback loses confidences in his blockers, and that creates a whole other set of issues for an offense.
No player in the NFL, outside of maybe Patrick Mahomes, could play successfully under these circumstances.
Is Mac Jones being scapegoated?
Mac Jones turned the ball over, again, in Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins. Some credit needs to be given to six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey for making an incredible play and baiting Jones into the throw.
But then again, it’s still a throw that Jones needs to avoid making.
With that out of the way, we must address the real issue at hand right now, which is the offensive talent around the quarterback. Look, I’m not saying Jones is or isn’t the right guy under center for the Patriots, but there are no available plug-and-play pieces that’s going to suddenly elevate things.
And who would want to even try?
Jones takes constant criticism for merely existing on a bad football team that he had no hand in creating. He has little to no time to drop back and pass, and the receivers aren’t able to create separation on a consistent basis. It’s a complete mess that has caused him to lose so much confidence that he misses routine reads when they finally open up.
The Patriots need a Superman to save this offense, and the only red cape capable of doing that is retired or playing football in Kansas City right now.
What's next for the Patriots?
The biggest question facing the Patriots is their plans for the October 31st trade deadline. Will they put up a yard sale sign on their front lawn and start moving multiple players for draft picks?
Things become even more complicated with Bill Belichick at the helm of the decision-making. Selling off the roster would go hand-in-hand with tanking, and the team’s record at the end of the season would likely reflect that decision.
Is this a case where Belichick presses on as normal and tries to win as many games as possible to save face for a disappointing season, all while stockpiling victories on his way towards being the winningest coach in NFL history?
The Patriots should definitely be sellers with the intent to rebuild a stronger roster in 2024 and beyond. That would be the right thing to do. But the factors at play might lead them in the other direction.
