The New England Patriots traveled out west with the hopes of returning with a 8-6 record and control of their fate in the playoff picture.
So far, so good.
Despite battling a slew of injuries, the Patriots dug deep and managed to snag a pivotal road win over the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in a primetime Monday Night Football game. By the end of the game, they were down cornerback Jack Jones, running back Rhamondre Stevenson, wide receiver DeVante Parker and safety Devin McCourty.
But the next man up mentality proved too strong to be outdone for a Patriots team that desperately needed a win. Make no mistake, it wasn’t all sugar and rainbows in the matchup, and there are still legitimate concerns surrounding the team. However, they did what they had to do and finished strong with a victory over a Cardinals team that’s clearly better than their record indicates.
Here are the winners and losers from the game.
Loser: Offensive line
Here’s to hoping someone buys Patriots quarterback Mac Jones a nice pair of Brooks shoes because he was running for his life against the Cardinals. The unit as a whole has struggled this season due to guys being in and out of the lineup.
There’s also the fact that former longtime defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is the de facto offensive line coach, along with handling offensive play-calling duties. He has clearly struggled on both fronts this season.
On Monday, the Patriots faced a blitz-happy Cardinals defense and looked overwhelmed at times on the offensive front. Keep in mind, the team was starting Conor McDermott at right tackle with Isaiah Wynn once again out of action.
Winner: Marcus Jones
Marcus Jones can do it all—offense, defense and special teams. If he said he could also coach, I’d probably believe him at this point.
He hauled in a reception for 12 yards against the Cardinals, along with nabbing an interception on Colt McCoy to help put the Patriots over the top on the road.
Picked off by Marcus Jones 🙌
Who’s got @Patriots defense in @NFLFantasy?
📺: #NEvsAZ on ESPN
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/UKeBTYKCRY pic.twitter.com/FfVp5WO3Ds— NFL (@NFL) December 13, 2022
It’s becoming clear why coach Bill Belichick was so confident in taking Jones in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft. The rookie is positioning himself to be a star for the team for years to come.
Loser: Nelson Agholor
Nelson Agholor looked like he stepped into a time machine and went back to his days with the Philadelphia Eagles in this game. He clearly had a bad case of the dropsies on Monday night, with at least one play nearly being ruled a fumble returned for a touchdown.
It’s even more frustrating considering he has the second-highest cap hit behind tight end Hunter Henry this season. The Agholor experiment clearly hasn’t worked for the Patriots, and they’ve paid a lot of money in the process of seeing it fail.
It’s scary to think the team might need to depend on him to step up if DeVante Parker misses time with the injury he suffered during the game.
Winner: Josh Uche
Josh Uche is really starting to make a name for himself on the Patriots defense. He’s consistently finding a way to impact the game, even when he isn’t coming up with sacks.
Granted, he was feasting on sack lunches (3) against the Cardinals, but he also forced a bad pass from Colt McCoy that led to Marcus Jones getting an interception. The combination of Uche and Matthew Judon is a force to be reckoned with regardless of who the Patriots are facing on the schedule.
They clearly have the potential to take the team to heights that weren’t believed possible earlier in the season, assuming the offense doesn’t completely kill the momentum.
Winner: Rookie running backs
Things thinned out quickly for the Patriots at running back after Rhamondre Stevenson went down with an ankle injury. Damien Harris was already sidelined with a thigh injury, and the only other option left for the team was relying on the two rookies, Pierre Strong Jr, and Kevin Harris to help carry the load in the offensive backfield.
And boy did they carry the load.
Kevin Harris turned heads with his bludgeoning running style that eventually ended with him powering his way into the end zone for six points in the first half of the game.
Not to be outdone, Strong found his way into the end zone as well in the second half after demonstrating his speed on multiple plays. On a night when the Patriots desperately needed the extra offensive help, both of their rookies scored the first touchdown of their NFL careers.
Winner: Hunter Henry
Much has been made about the tight end struggles for the Patriots, but on Monday night, Hunter Henry silenced critics by hauling in three passes for a team-high 70 receiving yards. There is no offensive success without the involvement of the tight ends.
Henry was one of Mac Jones’ favorite targets in 2021, and that’s starting to become the case again later in the season. Here’s to hoping he can get back to being a threat in the red zone, where the Patriots have clearly struggled this season.
But there’s a tendency for a bit of a see-saw effect when it comes to Patriots receivers. They’ll have a big game one week and then go without a single catch the next week.
Winner: Ja'Whaun Bentley
Ja’Whaun Bentley was flying all around the field making plays on a night when the Cardinals leaned heavily on their running game with James Conner, who found some success against the Patriots on the ground.
The starting linebacker finished the game with 10 tackles on a night when the Patriots needed it the most. This wasn’t a case where the Cardinals offense had a meltdown after losing Kyler Murray on the third play of the game. They continued to play hard on the offensive side of the ball, and it took the consistency from Bentley and others to deliver the knockout blow.
The Patriots will surely need more of that effort with a murderer’s row slate of opponents remaining on the schedule.
Winner: Raekwon McMillan
Perhaps the biggest winner of the night was linebacker Raekwon McMillan, who tipped the game in the Patriots’ favor with a scoop and score off a DeAndre Hopkins’ fumble.
Points by the @Patriots defense! 💪
📺: #NEvsAZ on ESPN
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/UKeBTYKCRY pic.twitter.com/8PHgaMkuyV— NFL (@NFL) December 13, 2022
Kyle Dugger deserves credit for forcing the fumble, but it was McMillan that picked the ball up and ran it into the end zone to put the Patriots ahead. New England never looked back after scoring that touchdown.
When a play needed to be made, the defense came up big with McMillan’s heads-up play leading the way.
