FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots inability to score from the 1-yard line on two separate occasions against the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday – with six attempts overall – has been a hot topic this week ahead of Monday night’s game with the New York Giants.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels spoke with the media Friday, and was immediately asked about the team’s failure from the one.
He started by saying he always has a plan – “a low red-zone menu, a goal line menu” – ahead of time depending on the team the Patriots, and whatever the defense might present.
Four runs were stuffed. So was a QB sneak by Drake Maye. Whether it was poor blocking, or the wrong play-call during the 26-20 win, the Patriots couldn’t cross from one yard out.
“I think at the end of the day, that’s not an easy place to score from if you don’t execute a lot of little things well,” McDaniels said. “There was one (play) we probably shouldn’t have called based on the way the defense presented it. That was on me.
“We had the one where we scored, and were called for offensive PI, so there’s a lot of little things that have to happen to get 36 inches down there sometimes.”
McDaniels believes the Patriots, who are ranked 20th in red zone offense, will improve.
“I think we learned a very valuable lesson from watching the tape,” he said. “There’s a lot we can do better in the short area, to try and get it in.
“We can’t take anything for granted down there. Regardless of what the play is, or how many times we think we’ve repped it … we certainly have to do a better job of converting those opportunities into touchdowns. Those eventually determine the outcome of games. We were fortunate we weren’t on the losing end.”
Against the Giants, the Patriots won’t have left tackle Will Campbell, who is on IR with the knee injury he suffered against the Bengals. They’ll also likely be missing left guard Jared Wilson.
