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What Patriots Must Improve to Compete Down the Stretch

The Patriots close their season against a gauntlet of top passers and tough teams, but some key improvements should keep them competitive.
Taylor KylesBy Updated:7 Mins Read

The Patriots enter their bye week on a three-game losing streak after Sunday’s heartbreaking loss to the Colts.

Head coach Jerod Mayo’s undermanned, injury-ridden squad deserves credit for its competitiveness. Half of New England’s ten losses, which include two overtime thrillers, came down to the final possession. The team has also shown resiliency even in blowouts, and their most recent defeat featured questionable officiating that undeniably affected the outcome.

That said, moral victories have grown stale among the Foxborough Faithful. The Patriots’ fundamentals have lacked at times throughout this season, popping up in all three phases. The staff has also been guilty of questionable decision-making, particularly in critical moments. Growing pains are natural for an inexperienced staff, but Mayo often exacerbates issues with press conferences that leave more questions than answers.

Expecting the head coach to button up by season’s end may not be realistic, but winning cures all. That won’t be easy against three playoff contenders, but by Mayo’s own admission, the mark of his rookie season is how the team finishes. Even if New England doesn’t add more wins to its record, they can enter the offseason with dignity by not beating themselves.

Here are three areas where the Patriots must improve before their Week 15 matchup with the Cardinals.

RED ZONE EXECUTION

Poor execution in scoring territory has held New England back on both sides of the ball.

The Red Zone defense was middle of the pack before Week 11, but their nine touchdowns allowed since are tied for third-most in the NFL.

New England’s offense looked unstoppable in scoring position when Drake Maye became the starter. From Weeks 6-9, no team had a higher touchdown rate (80.0%) inside the 20s. Those Red Zone touchdowns have dried up since Week 10, with only the Falcons (22.2%) and Falcons (25.0%) converting at a lower rate than the Patriots (33.3%).

The Bills and Cardinals each boast top-10 Red Zone offenses, and all three of the Patriots’ final opponents have top-10 Red Zone defenses. To give themselves a fighting chance, New England must address fundamental issues to get themselves into the end zone and keep others out.

Offensively, nothing has hurt Van Pelt’s group more than unforced errors. Since Week 10, the team has led the NFL with ten Red Zone penalties, including three false starts (second-most), four holds (most), and an illegal shift (t-most). Most of these mistakes resulted in lost points in close contests or lost momentum before the game flow was declared.

“The most frustrating penalties to me are always the pre–snap penalties,” Mayo said ahead of the Colts game. “because that is really just a lack of focus and a lack of detail, and we have to clean that stuff up.”

Another disappointing Red Zone woe has been occasionally poor play from veterans. Offseason retentions Hunter Henry (two missed blocks vs. Rams; possible wrong route, drop that led to pick vs. Colts), Kendrick Bourne (wrong route vs. Colts), and Onwenu (touchdown negated by holding, sack allowed vs. Colts) have all committed mistakes that cost potential points. Position leaders cannot be the ones letting the offense down in critical moments.

Defensively, miscommunication and poor recognition have proven costly three weeks in a row. In Week 11, Matthew Stafford punished New England for poor alignment and eye discipline. In Week 12, De’Von Achane had heads spinning. In Week 13, blown assignments contributed to each of Indy’s scores.

Mistakes from career special teamers are understandable, but defensive leaders Jonathan Jones and Kyle Dugger have been in the area for multiple breakdowns recently. These errors have been hard to pin on Covington alone, though the rookie coordinator hasn’t always put players in the best positions to succeed.

Bending is understandable for a defense with Christian Barmore not 100%, Ja’Whaun Bentley out for the season, and little hope of an improved pass rush. Still, players must put in the work to ensure mental mistakes don’t put them behind the eight-ball against three powerhouses.

OFFENSIVE SYNC

Maye has been one of the league’s most accurate passers, but odd misses have peppered his tape over the past few weeks. Though the rookie has shown maturity in taking the blame, coaches and teammates have sometimes directed responsibility elsewhere.

“I think Pop was just a little early, got excited,” coordinator Alex Van Pelt said when asked about a miscue in Miami. “There was a huge space in there, and it’s a five-step route. He ran it at three steps, and that’s where the confusion came. So it’s just understanding the details and being where you’re supposed to be. I thought that was a missed opportunity for us. We had a really big play there and didn’t execute it on third down, could’ve stayed on the field.”

That wasn’t the first or last time Maye and Douglas haven’t been on the same page. The slot receiver is electric against man coverage, but his spatial awareness is questionable. There have been multiple dropbacks where Douglas has run toward coverage rather than settling into space.

Mental mistakes from your most dynamic receiver are less than ideal, but Douglas hasn’t even been the biggest offender.

Since returning from a torn ACL, Kendrick Bourne has admitted to running incorrect routes after multiple games. This made sense early on, as he’d missed the entire summer and half the season. But just last Sunday, Bourne had a mental error that contributed to a critical sack.

Mike Onwenu also missed a pre-snap adjustment last week that left DeForest Buckner untouched on a critical third and one. Rhamondre Stevenson was tackled for a four-yard loss.

Expectations must be managed for the Patriots’ patchwork young, offense. With nearly every player lacking a full season of starting experience, asking them to consistently look like a well-oiled machine might be unrealistic. But at the very least, the group must show signs of growth before season’s end.

CONTAINING MOBILE QUARTERBACKS

Anthony Richardson ran for 48 yards on nine carries against the Patriots. That’s a modest total given the dual threat’s big-play ability, but he picked up every key conversion he needed throughout the game. And upon further review, the defense could’ve put itself in better positions on multiple plays.

Before the game, coordinator DeMarcus Covington stressed the importance of playing assignment-sound football against the first quarterback run game they’d seen all season.

“You have to be good with your reads,” Covington said. “You definitely put that into preparation with the guys and making sure: who’s responsible for what on every single play. Just making sure who’s responsible for the force, who has the quarterback. Who has the dive, who has the pitch, who has this, and who’s the alley player, who’s the run force player, like those different things.”

The plan was great in theory, but it wasn’t executed consistently on the field.

Christian Gonzalez finished strong in run defense, but he mostly struggled when carries came his way.

Linebacker Christian Elliss appeared to fly out of his gap on the game-winning two-point conversion, though a flag should’ve been thrown for a hold on Barmore.

Michael Pittman Jr. also de-cleated Dugger and Jaylinn Hawkins on a pair of crack blocks, which the safeties should’ve been more aware of.

New England did a good job keeping Richardson contained as a passer, continuing a two-month-long trend. Still, Jabrill Peppers did take a poor angle on a 4th down blitz that allowed Indy to keep their final drive alive.

“The quarterback designed runs were definitely a problem, and we just have to get that fixed,” Mayo said on Monday. “Anytime there’s a quarterback that can run, he just adds another piece to the puzzle, and we’ll see that here coming up soon.”

Kyler Murray (30, 7th), Josh Allen (26, 8th), and Justin Herbert (23, t-10th) each rank towards the top of the league in designed carries. Murray and Allen have also converted at above a 30% clip on such runs.

These quarterbacks are nightmares to defend for a reason, so again, expectation management is key. But that doesn’t excuse poor awareness or subpar execution. If New England doesn’t get back to fundamentals in these critical moments, they’ll be at a massive disadvantage down the stretch.

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Taylor Kyles is the lead NFL Analyst for CLNS Media covering players, schemes, and tendencies through a New England Patriots-centric lens.

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