As Patriots players take the blame, bad practice really costs them what it costs | Chris Mason

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LAS VEGAS After a stunning loss, silence permeated the locker room for dejected visitors to Allegiant Stadium as reporters entered.

Still wearing his full uniform 20 minutes after the games final, Jakobi Meyers sat hunched over in his stand, staring intently at the locker in front of him. He needed a pat on the shoulder to know he’d been asked for an interview, and then Meyers took off his pads and prepared to take questions.

He did so with tears in his eyes, and took full charge of a shocking mental error. He was not alone.

With the Patriots and Raiders tied 24-24 and 0:00 on the clock, Rhamondre Stevenson raced down the right sideline to the Las Vegas 30-yard line, but running out of room, returned the ball to Meyers. Maxx Crosby had Meyers in his sights, and just as he was about to get smashed, the former quarterback turned wide receiver tossed the ball across the field to Mac Jones.

Only he didn’t find the right Jones.

Instead, he landed in the arms of Chandler Jones, and the 260-pound rusher crushed the quarterback and ran 50 yards for a scoreless touchdown. It was unfathomably bad judgment. If the game had died organically, the game would have gone to overtime.

It was me. That was me, Meyers said, visibly upset. I promise you, it was just me trying to do a play.

But Meyers was not the only one to blame. Stevenson also said it was his fault that things even progressed to backyard football gone bad.

The game started with me with the ball. So if I hadn’t answered him, Jakobi wouldn’t have had the chance to. So I take full responsibility for the game, Stevenson said. I just need to know the situation. I just need to know what’s going on in the game.

Eventually, Mac Jones said it was his fault. Although 45 pounds lighter than Chandler Jones, let alone a quarterback, he thought he should have played.

I have to tackle the guy. It’s on me. It’s my fault, said Jones.

But while the Patriots players had to do their best Spartacus routines, I’m to blame, I’m to blame, I’m to blame, the real fault lies elsewhere.

Fourteen games into the season, the 7-7 Patriots just aren’t a well-drilled football team. The jarring conclusion to Sundays may have been a crescendo, but it has smoldered the entire season.

I would say we made a mistake on this game. The game didn’t work. We made a mistake on the game, said Bill Belichick.

For two decades, the characteristics of a team coached by Belichick were simple: they are disciplined, they don’t fight and they play smart, situational football.

This isn’t the 2022 Patriots. While the end game was the most glaring example, there were also plenty of other bad situation football to sift through.

They found themselves coming out of a 17-3 hole in Las Vegas because once again they didn’t check those boxes. Given a first goal from the 2-yard line in the second quarter, the offense imploded. After a 1-yard gain from Stevenson, they burned two timeouts, and preparing to go for it on the 4th and 1, Mac Jones broke the ball before Jonnu Smith was set. False start. Field goal attempt instead. They remain last in the league in scoring from the red zone.

It was obviously a mistake on this game too, Belichick said.

With four more pre-snap penalties on Sunday, the Patriots are up to 39 this season. Yes, thirty-nine penalties before the ball was even broken. It’s overwhelming proof of a team fighting for itself. Belichicks fondness for Sun Tzu is well documented. The author of The Art of War said, “Every battle is won before it’s even been fought.” The Patriots keep losing battles before the ball is even broken.

On Sunday, the Raiders also cashed in a short field before halftime because of a blocked punt. The ball was snapped before most players were cleared and Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce had a clear path to Michael Palardy, a major mental error. Game-changing special teams games don’t get any easier.

It’s another mistake on the game, Belichick said.

Now sitting 7-7 with games against the Bengals, Dolphins and Bills looming, a playoff berth looks like a long shot. FiveThirtyEight puts them at 19%, which seems generous. Under the guidance of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, Mac Jones clearly regressed (13 for 31, 112 yards Sunday) and we didn’t even really get how punchless the offense looked in Las Vegas. .

Whether it’s focusing on hyper-conservative play calls or a mediocre offensive line playing both Patricias responsibility or the way Jones took a step back with the judge on his ear instead from Josh McDaniels, it’s obvious that this 25th-ranked offense just isn’t effective. It hasn’t been all season.

I think they’re both good coaches,” Belichick told Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe in September. In the end, it’s my responsibility, as always. So if it’s not going well, blame me.

While Patriots players were quick to blame themselves on Sunday, it’s time to put the blame where Belichick himself said it really belongs.

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