Patriots most responsible for Week 15 loss to Raiders

[ad_1]

The New England Patriots fell to the Las Vegas Raiders 30-24 in devastating fashion on Sunday, losing in the game finale as fullback Jakobi Meyers was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Chandler Jones.

Here are the three Patriots most responsible for the Week 15 loss, which brought them down to 7-7.

3. Matt Patricia and the Offensive Coaching Team

New England’s unusual offensive setup and Patricia’s inexperience in handling an offense were again evident on Sunday.

The Patriots brought the ball back to the Raiders’ two-yard line early in the second quarter. For many teams, they would have entered the end zone with four tries from just two yards. Not New England, however.

First, they ran Rhamondre Stevenson in the gut for a gain of one. Giving the ball to your power there made sense, but they did it with the shotgun for some reason. They worked the shotgun again on second down, which led to Mac Jones knocking down an open Jonnu Smith into the back corner of the end zone.

The Patriots finally entered the end zone on third down when Jones threw a pass directly to Meyers. But wait, he got wiped off the board because Bill Belichick called time out before the game because he didn’t like the way the team was lined up. They again operated from the shotgun when they returned from time out. The play was a quick tilt to Nelson Agholor, which, of course, was incomplete.

So one more shot for the Patriots to get a single yard. But they couldn’t decide on a game quickly enough, forcing them to call a timeout. They ultimately didn’t run from the shotgun when they came out of timeout as Jones entered the end zone on a stealthy QB for six. Yay! Oh wait, there was a flag and it was on Smith for not lining up properly before the snap, nullifying the touchdown and forcing the Patriots to settle for three runs.

The Patriots scored two touchdowns on that drive but neither counted due to self-inflicted injuries (timeout and false start)

They had to settle for a basket instead. Brutal pic.twitter.com/B9aiZmaVL4

BennyGIFs (@BennyGIFs) December 18, 2022

This situation sums up the jaw-dropping incompetence of the Patriots offense so far this season, especially in the red zone. They rank last in red-zone efficiency, but the Raiders have allowed a touchdown the previous 14 times the opposition got the ball in their five-yard line.

The Patriots had four chances to move the ball just two yards out, and they ended up falling back four yards against a team that tends to let opponents score in that situation. And they used two timeouts in the process. Sure, the execution wasn’t there on any of these games, but the difficulty of finding a game to muster just a yard or two shows the failure of those who run the system more than those who play it.

2. MacJones

The Patriots sophomore quarterback had arguably the worst game of his career on Sunday.

Jones completed just 13 of 31 passes for 112 yards with zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. He made several passes throughout the game, such as the pass to Smith mentioned earlier and a pass to a wide-open Meyers on a seam route before halftime.

Unlike many games in recent weeks, Jones didn’t have his offensive line to blame either. He was not sacked and was only pressured five times with 33 abandonments.

Sure, Jones didn’t play DeVante Parker and Meyers any fewer snaps than usual after returning from a concussion, but he just lacked receivers. He had a -19.6 completion percentage above expectations, according to Next Gen Stats, the worst of his career.

In a game where the defense put on a strong performance and completely shut down one of the best receivers in the game, the Patriots just needed their quarterback to do something more than complete 41.9 percent of his passes. No wonder Bill Belichick doesn’t want him to throw a Hail Mary at the end.

1.Jacob Meyers

You can’t throw the game away like that, man.

What makes Sunday’s playoff all the more frustrating is that Meyers is arguably one of the Patriots’ best players. He led the team in receiving in 2020 and 2021 and was their best receiver this season as well. He worked from undrafted free agent status in 2019, which was only a few seasons away from playing quarterback, to becoming a legitimate NFL receiver.

What just happened?? The @Raiders win on the end game!! #NEvsLV pic.twitter.com/cmKNUuab1k

NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2022

Now Meyers will be associated with one of the biggest blunders in NFL history. To his credit, he absolutely admitted his mistake when speaking to reporters after the game and clearly felt what happened as his eyes looked watery.

But football can sometimes be a cruel game, no matter how talented or hard you work.

[ad_2]