The New England Patriots were able to break their two-game losing streak thanks to a Week 17 matchup with the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Pats throttled the Jags 50-10 which quieted some of the concern about their offense and ability to stop the run. Still, a point made by NESN’s Zack Cox stands, the Patriots’ offense needs to get going quicker.
“ALL the latest Patriots news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Patriots newsletter here!
The Patriots & Their Slow Starts
We’ve heard concern about the Patriots’ lack of explosiveness all season and some of that could be connected to the team’s inability to get going in the first quarter.
“Another major problem for the Patriots of late: slow starts,” Cox wrote. “They’ve scored just seven first-half points during their two-game losing skid, falling behind 20-0 against the Colts and 17-7 against the Bills. They rallied in both games, racking up 31 second-half points, but couldn’t complete either comeback.
“New England’s run-heavy, [Mac] Jones-led offense is built to play from ahead. The Patriots have led at halftime in seven of their nine wins this season (and trailed by one and six points at the break in the two outliers).”
When a team is as predicated on the run as the Patriots (53% of the team’s plays are runs, which is second only to the Baltimore Ravens‘ 57.8%) it is imperative they’re not playing from behind. At some point, Jones may develop into the type of quarterback capable of passing his team out of a hole. Through the first 16 games of his career, we haven’t seen evidence to support that concept.
Kendrick Bourne Isn’t Overly Concerned With the Struggles
“(It’s) really just locking in, executing,” Kendrick Bourne said after the loss to the Bills in a postgame presser. “I feel like we haven’t been hitting all our points in the beginning, kind of starting late, starting slow. So just executing early on. Starting with a catch, a good run, whatever it may be, just to start off on the right foot.”
Could the Patriots stand to take more deep shots down the field early in games?
It would seem like a smart play considering the risk is a bit lower in the first quarter. If the deep shots resulted in a turnover, the Patriots would have a longer time to recover and perhaps the league’s top-rated defense could erase the mistake by forcing a three-and-out against the opponent’s offense.
“We’re still making plays,” Bourne continued. “We’re still pretty confident — we’re very confident. It’s just about executing on every play, not taking any play for granted, and that’s how you’ve really got to think about it, because you never know which play is going to be the difference.”
Evidence of this came against the Jags when the team posted a 50-piece, but that was Jacksonville. While the Miami Dolphins have been eliminated from the postseason, you can bet they will play a spirited game against the Patriots in Week 18.
New England still has potential postseason seeding to play for in the final regular season game and Miami would like nothing more than to ruin things for them.
Week 18 is going to be very important for the Patriots’ offense to hopefully sustain the momentum they reestablished against Jacksonville and to carry it into the playoffs.
Follow the Heavy on Patriots Facebook page, where you can weigh in on all the latest Patriots-related breaking news, rumors, content and more!
ALSO READ:
- Patriots Assistant Previously Had ‘Incredible’ Head Coach Interview: Report
- Patriots Veteran Reveals Major Health Secret
- Patriots ‘Odd Man Out’ Embraces Demotion, Says Coaches
- 2 Patriots Legends Get Very Different Hall-of-Fame Voting Results
- Patriots Could’ve Had Future Hall-of-Famer For ‘Day 3’ Pick, Says NFL Analyst
NFL Analyst Identifies ‘Major Problem’ With Patriots