Most analysts favored the Patriots to beat the Saints ahead of their week 3 matchup. The prediction made sense on paper, Mac Jones had made a solid start to the season, the Patriots had just dominated the Jets while the Saints got destroyed by the Carolina Panthers. However, football games are decided on the field and not on paper. The way this game unfolded flipped all expectations on its head. The Patriots’ offense was very pedestrian and made uncharacteristic turnovers. The Saints, on the other hand, played mistake-free football and managed the game. In this article, we will look at the five biggest takeaways from Sunday’s debacle.
1. Mac Jones finally looked like a rookie-the 2021 rookie quarterback class have quickly found out that life in the NFL is not as easy as their college years. Jones has been the most successful rookie quarterback so far this season. However, in this game, he looked and played like a rookie. Mac was very tentative in the pocket and made uncharacteristic errant throws leading to interceptions. He tried to stretch the defense with a few deeper throws but did not get help from his receivers who dropped competitive catches or failed to get separation from coverage.
2. Offensive Line Failure-Mac Jones’ biggest issue during the game was that he failed to get the time needed to deliver the football to his receivers. The Saints brought pressure on the young quarterback, and although he sacked only twice, he never really had a clean pocket in the game and was forced to make throws too rapidly. The line failed to block badly for the running game because the running backs only had 21 yards from 11 carries.
3. Josh McDaniels is on the hot seat- McDaniels has long been seen as an offensive wizard on the sideline. However, it feels as he is not putting his young quarterback in a position to succeed. The play calling in the game seemed very predictable, and there was an opportunity to run some gadget plays for Jonnu Smith and his weapons. The play calling in the red zone has been questionable because the Patriots have often failed and settled for field goals. As the Offensive Coordinator, you will not win football games with Mac Jones being the leading rusher for your team with 28 yards.
4. Jonnu Smith had a terrible day at the office- Last season Jonnu had a great season with the Tennessee Titans by scoring eight touchdowns, and the numbers prove he was a big red zone target. On the first day of free agency, the Patriots locked Smith down to a 4-yr 50-million-dollar contract. However, in this game, he had three drops, and one of his drops to start the third quarter led to a pick-six interception by Malcolm Jenkins. The gut-wrenching play made coming back from the deficit an even more difficult task.
5. Ray of hope on a dark day- Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne had good games on offense in combining for 15 catches for 190 and a touchdown. The touchdown was an acrobatic catch from Bourne, showed a presence of mind to stay in bounds and stick the ball over the pylon for the score. On defense, Matt Judon is proving to be a difference-maker because he dominated his matchup in dropping Jameis Winston for 2.5 sacks.
Bill Belichick and his staff will have to get the team to forget this game quickly as the Sunday Night Showdown looms with Tom Brady and the Superbowl Champions Buccaneers heading to Gillette Stadium.