{"id":95182,"date":"2021-12-19T02:16:45","date_gmt":"2021-12-19T07:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/?p=95182"},"modified":"2021-12-19T02:39:26","modified_gmt":"2021-12-19T07:39:26","slug":"lazar-ten-things-we-learned-from-the-patriots-27-17-loss-to-the-colts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/?p=95182","title":{"rendered":"Lazar: Ten Things We Learned From the Patriots’ 27-17 Loss to the Colts"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 One could dissect the Patriots\u2019 27-17 loss to the Colts on Saturday night, snapping their seven-game winning streak, in one of two ways.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, the Patriots were due for a stinker after everything went right for two months, and the team showed its mental toughness and resilience to make it a competitive game.<\/p>\n

But the spin for many after coming out flat and shooting themselves in the foot at Lucas Oil Stadium was that New England was exposed as a fraudulent Super Bowl contender.<\/p>\n

The reality, as always, is somewhere in the middle. We are beyond the point of moral victories, but we also saw uncharacteristic mistakes in a string of errors that cost the Pats a victory.<\/p>\n

A snapshot of what went wrong: a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, two interceptions (one in the red zone), jumping offside on a missed field goal turning it into three points, false start from the IND 2 on third down, 1-of-3 on fourth down, and the list goes on.<\/p>\n

Separating the anomalies from the recurring issues is how we best gauge where the Patriots are at as a team. The Pats don’t typically kill themselves with penalties (13th-fewest coming into the week), and Mac Jones isn\u2019t usually a quarterback that throws red-zone interceptions. In fact, Darius Leonard\u2019s red zone pick was Mac\u2019s first from inside the 20 this season.<\/p>\n

Almost everything went wrong for the Patriots on Saturday night, and cleaning up most of it comes with a better week of practice, as Jones said in his post-game press conference.<\/p>\n

The resounding sentiment from the head coach to every player who spoke after the game was the same: \u201cthis time of year, eight penalties, two turnovers, and a blocked punt is not going to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, outside of Hunter Henry, Jones doesn\u2019t have a reliable target to finish drives in the end zone, and that remains a significant issue that will bury them against playoff-caliber competition.<\/p>\n

Although we can place blame on player execution, some of the red zone woes also fall on offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Colts head coach Frank Reich now has two specials, the Philly and the Patriots, so where is the McDaniels special? And can we please get another fourth-and-short pass other than the sprint right\/pick play?<\/p>\n

On paper, the Patriots have more useful weapons than just Henry to finish drives. But they need their offensive coordinator to get in the lab and cook up some new recipes.<\/p>\n

Belichick will get the rest of it sorted out, and the Pats will be a cleaner operation in future games; can they finish offensively? Ultimately, that\u2019ll decide how far this team goes.<\/p>\n

Here are ten things we learned as the Patriots\u2019 drop to 9-5 on the season:<\/p>\n

1. Pats QB Mac Jones Nearly Mounts Comeback in Seesaw Performance<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Patriots’ offense felt the growing pains of a rookie on Saturday night, but they also saw what their young quarterback was made of mentally.<\/p>\n