The Patriots have hit the midway point of the season with eight games down, and eight to play after Sunday’s game with the Washington Commanders.
Standing as the worst team in the AFC at 2-6, it couldn’t have gone much worse for Bill Belichick’s team during the opening half of the schedule.
Offensively, their 14.8 points per game average is third worst in the league. Defensively, the 26.0 points per game they’ve surrendered is sixth worst. Add in being fourth worst in turnover differential (minus-6), and it doesn’t paint a very bright picture.
Perhaps the only consolation is the Patriots, who stood pat at the NFL trade deadline, are headed for a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL draft if the second half resembles the first.
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Completing the picture, there’s been plenty of talk and speculation with respect to Belichick’s job status in wake of having another season that’s bound to end without a playoff appearance. If things stay as they are, three of the first four seasons without Tom Brady won’t include any postseason activity.
Post-Brady, in fact, the Patriots have gone 27-32.
So, questions abound. Will Belichick still be in Foxborough if he eventually passes Don Shula’s mark for all-time wins, or might he be coaching elsewhere?
During the week, speculation has run rampant on a possible end game for Robert Kraft and Belichick. Bottom line, how it plays out from here is anyone’s guess.
That said, what’s transpired thus far on the football field hasn’t been particularly inspiring.
Here’s the mid-term grades
Quarterback : D-plus
The expectation was for a get-right year for Mac Jones, especially with Bill O’Brien running the offense and calling the plays. Eight games in, it just hasn’t happened.
With a 66.5% completion percentage, and eight interceptions – including three pick-sixes – to go along with nine touchdown passes, Jones is one of the worst-ranked quarterbacks in the league.
Overall, he’s committed 10 turnovers. To be fair, he hasn’t been helped by a shaky offensive line, not to mention an arsenal that’s devoid of elite talent. But quite a few of his turnovers have been self-inflicted either trying to do too much, or simply making poor decisions with the football.
Jones was benched twice thanks to a pair of dismal outings in back-to-back games. He did help the cause with his efforts against the Buffalo Bills with a stellar comeback win. But those moments have been few and far between.
Bailey Zappe (7-for-18, 79 yards) wasn’t able to provide a spark in either of his relief appearances. Malik Cunningham saw a few snaps at quarterback against the Raiders but those were uneventful.
Grades weeks 1-8 (B-minus, B, B, F, F, C-minus, A, C-minus)
Running backs: C-minus
Rhamondre Stevenson had a breakout season last year, and proved to be one of the league’s best backs both running and catching the football.
So far this season, he’s struggled to recapture that form. He’s rushed for just 307 yards on 97 carries, with a paltry 3.2 yards per carry average. Ezekiel Elliott has had some flashes, but the overall numbers (67 carries, 260 yards, 3.9 yards per carry) aren’t much better than Stevenson.
Both Stevenson and Elliott have two rushing touchdowns. Elliott also had a costly fumble in the season opener against the Eagles.
They also haven’t been helped by finding little to no daylight from the blocking up front.
Coming out of the backfield, Stevenson has 25 catches for 73 yards, but hasn’t nearly been as dynamic with the football in his hands as he was the previous season. None of the backs has had a 100-yard rushing game. Worse, collectively, the Patriots have only rushed for more than 100 yards once.
Grades weeks 1-8 (C-minus, C-minus, B-minus, D, D, B-plus, B-plus, B-minus)
Wide receivers: C-minus
“Stink, stank, stunk.”
During training camp, that was Mike Giardi’s description of the group of receivers. Several members of the group, Kendrick Bourne and DeVante Parker, openly poked fun at the line. It seemed to be a rallying cry for the group.
The problem is they just haven’t been able to prove that narrative wrong.
With the exception of Bourne, who was the team’s leading receiver before suffering a season-ending injury, and rookie Demario Douglas, who has been a revelation, Giardi’s description was on the money.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, one of the Patriots prized offseason acquisitions, has been a bust. Thanks to a knee injury suffered during the AFC Championship, he hasn’t been anywhere near the same player he was last year, or during his prime years with Pittsburgh.
Parker, meanwhile, has had trouble staying on the field. He also hasn’t made the type of plays he was brought to New England to make. Case in point, he couldn’t come down with a perfectly thrown bomb by Mac Jones against the Raiders with the game on the line in the closing minutes.
Second-year receiver Tyquan Thornton, meanwhile, is another who has been plagued by injury issues. And even when he’s played, he’s barely been noticeable, even with his blazing 4.2 speed. Kayshon Boutte will get a chance against the Commanders, but has been kept under wraps since the season opener when he couldn’t get both feet in-bounds on a sideline catch on a pivotal play.
Bourne was in the midst of having a nice bounce-back season from last year but won’t get to see it through with a torn ACL. That’s a tough break for Bourne who is in a contract year. As for Douglas, he’s been a hit with his jitterbug moves, and is electric with the ball in his hands.
Grades weeks 1-8 (C, C-minus, C-minus, D, D, C-minus-, B-plus, C)
Tight ends: B
With Bill O’Brien running the offense, the tight ends figured to have a more prominent role. With O’Brien employing two-and-three tight end sets during the year, the current trio have had a decent share of snaps.
Hunter Henry, coming off a down year last year, has been more involved. He’s been more of a presence catching the football this year, even with teams paying more attention to him as one of Mac Jones’ favorite targets. Overall, he’s second in receiving with 23 catches for 238 yards, and two touchdowns.
While Mike Gesicki was hyped as a red zone threat, and someone who would do damage catching passes down the seam, that hasn’t quite materialized. He did get open and haul in the game-winner against the Bills, but those plays have been elusive.
Pharaoh Brown, meanwhile, has been the biggest surprise of the bunch. He’s been targeted seven times, and has seven catches for 170 yards and a touchdown. That’s great production from a third tight end.
Grades weeks 1-8 (A-minus, A-minus, A-minus, C, D, C-minus, A, B).
Offensive line: D
Between injuries, having to play and start rookies perhaps sooner than intended, and deciding too late to have Michael Onwenu move to right tackle after so-many failed attempts with other personnel (Riley Reiff, Calvin Anderson, Vederian Lowe), the line play has been nothing short of a train wreck.
By just about every metric, they’re among the worst units in the league. Pass blocking alone, Pro Football Focus ranks them 28th out of 32 teams. They’ve allowed 15 sacks, and 75 hurries, per PFF.
Last season, the Patriots ran the football extremely well. This year, not so much with Stevenson and Ezekiel finding creases hard to come by.
David Andrews has allowed a few sacks, but he’s been solid for the most part. Trent Brown has also graded out well, while toughing it out with various injuries. Most of the issues have come from both guard spots and right tackle. Thanks to the ineffectiveness of the line, the offense has struggled to take off.
Grades weeks 1-8 (C-minus, D, B, F, F, D, A-minus, C)
Defensive line: B
Through the first eight games, the Patriots have been a top-ten defense when it comes to stopping the run (97.9 yards per game).
Christian Barmore has played like an All-Pro. He’s been a force up front, especially of late when he’s been utilized as a three-down defender. His improvements against the run have been noticeable. During the past three games alone, he’s had 12 tackles along with sacks in back-to-back games.
Deatrich Wise, meanwhile, has consistently played well. Davon Godchaux and Lawrence Guy have filled the gaps. Meanwhile, rookie Keion White has quietly made an impact and looks like he could be a building block for the future.
This group, however, hasn’t been able to generate much push up front.
Grades weeks 1-8 (A-minus, D, A, C-minus, C, B-minus, A, B-plus)
Linebacker: B
Losing Matthew Judon Week 4 against the Cowboys hasn’t helped when it comes to the pass rush.
Josh Uche, who has missed the last two games due to injury, hasn’t been able to pick up the slack coming off the opposite edge.
Overall, the Patriots have registered just 15 sacks, which is near the bottom of the league.
Anferee Jennings has been a regular contributor this season, but he’s primarily done that setting the edge against the run.
Ja’Whaun Bentley (55 tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for loss) is the team’s second leading tackler behind Kyle Dugger and has performed well.
Jahlani Tavai has also quietly had a good season, playing both outside and inside. He’s basically done whatever is needed to keep the defense afloat.
Grades weeks 1-8 (A, C-minus, A, C, C, B, B-plus, C)
Secondary: B-minus
The Patriots committee approach to replacing Devin McCourty has been a bit of a mixed bag.
Jabrill Peppers has emerged as a tone-setter. Kyle Dugger hasn’t quite been the same player as last year splitting his time between free and strong safety. He had his best game last week against the Dolphins.
Jalen Mills has also bounced around. Adrian Phillips seems like an afterthought, with his playing time reduced considerably this season.
As for the corners, Christian Gonzalez was impressive right out of the gate. A shoulder injury suffered Week 4 against the Cowboys, however, cut his rookie campaign short.
Jonathan Jones has played, but battled injury most of the season. Jack Jones has only played in two games, after starting the season on IR with a hamstring injury.
J.C. Jackson, meanwhile, returned to the Patriots after being acquired in a trade with the Chargers after Gonzalez went down. He’s been up and down. The Dolphins clearly picked on him last week, and the results weren’t good for the Patriots.
Myles Bryant has been used everywhere, be it in the slot, outside, and deep safety.
Grades weeks 1-8 (A-minus, B-minus, A-minus, C-minus, C, B-minus, A-minus, C-minus)
Specialists: C
The Patriots have put up with some growing pains having both a rookie kicker and punter. The team let go of reliable veteran Nick Folk, who’s been dynamite with Tennessee, in favor of Chad Ryland, who has a bigger leg.
Ryland has been perfect on extra points, but has only converted 9 of 13 field goal tries. From 50-plus yards, he’s 1-for-3, and 4-for-6 from 40-to-49 yards. Of late, he’s been a little more consistent.
As for punter Bryce Baringer, his booming leg has been on display for the most part, although he has shanked a few. Twenty of Baringer’s 40 punts have either been fair caught or downed inside the 20.
Meanwhile, long snapper Joe Cardona hasn’t been as automatic with his snaps, which hasn’t helped the operation with two rookie kickers.
With Marcus Jones out for the season, the Patriots haven’t had the same kind of productivity on punt returns. Ty Montgomery has handled the kick returns, while a combination of Pop Douglas, Jabrill Peppers and Myles Bryant have manned the punts. Douglas has had some flashes, but has also had some issues with whether to fair catch or let punts go deep in Patriots territory. Same with Peppers.
Grades weeks 1-8 (A-minus, A-minus, B, C,-minus, F, C, A-minus, A-minus)
Coaching: D-plus
With an inferior roster, the coaches aren’t totally responsible for the product out on the field.
But some of the important details have been missing. Like being ready for the start of games. With the exception of the Buffalo game, the Patriots have been plagued by slow starts.
They’ve also had issues with penalties. For so many years, Belichick-coached teams had a reputation for not beating themselves.
This team hasn’t taken a page out of that book.
Belichick has also made some curious in-game decisions.
Like not going for it on a 4th-and-3 from the New Orleans 30 when the Pats hosted the Saints. Chad Ryland missed the field goal, but that’s not the point. The offense needed a shot of confidence at that stage and didn’t get it. Later in that game, Belichick basically threw in the white towel.
It was the second drive of the second half. The Patriots trailed 24-0 at the time. They had a 4th-and-3 at the Saints’ 40. Instead of going for it and trying to put points on the board, he punted.
Not the best message to be sending Week 5.
On the plus side, the coaching staff did come up with a very good game plan en route to taking down Buffalo Week 7.
Grades weeks 1-8 (B-minus, D, B-plus, F, F, D, A, C)
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