The Patriots played their final game of the season a week ago inside a snow globe, with winter weather enveloping Gillette Stadium.
After they were beaten by the Jets to finish in last place in the AFC East at 4-13, Bill Belichick left the scene cloaked in a ski mask, while the Patriots headed off into the unknown.
Already, changes have been made. Belichick is out as head coach. Jerod Mayo, former Patriots linebacker and current assistant coach, is in. He’s the new man in charge.
General manager to be determined, although it appears the Patriots are keeping the status quo in the front office for now, or at least until after the draft.
Beyond that, questions remain in terms of how to resurrect the franchise.
Which position – quarterback, wide receiver, offensive tackle – will they target with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft?
And which in-house free agents played their last game in a Patriots uniform? Who will they pay to return?
The answers to those questions will ultimately shape the future of the team.
BET ANYTHINGGET $250 BONUSESPN BET
21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
“Well, the last three years have been pretty tough, I know for our dedicated fans and myself,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said during his press conference Thursday following a “mutual parting” with Belichick. “In life, I just learned things happen, and our family is the custodian of this asset – the New England Patriots – and we know how important it is to the psyche of the community. And, what’s gone on here the last three, four years isn’t what we want, so we have a responsibility to do what we can to fix it to the best of our ability.”
Needless to say, after a miserable, four-win season, there’s plenty of work ahead beyond re-shaping the coaching staff and front office, if it even comes to that.
The offense was a disaster from quarterback play, to the offensive line, to the receiving corps. Their 13.9 points per game average was tied for worst in the league with the Carolina Panthers.
Even with a competitive defense, that doesn’t even remotely cut it in an offense-driven league. The Patriots lost games with the defense holding the opposition to 10 points or less three times.
There were a few bright spots. But not many.
Here’s the final grades from the Patriots 2023-24 season:
Quarterback : D
Mac Jones started out decent enough, completing a career-high 35 passes in the season opener. The problem is that it was a downhill slog the rest of the way, save for one shining moment in the Week 7 win over Buffalo.
His play was so poor, he was benched four times in the course of 11 starts. He threw 12 picks with just 10 touchdown passes. By the time Bill Belichick finally pulled the plug on Jones, he was broken.
The Patriots have to decide whether to hold onto him for the time being, and also whether to kick in his fifth year option. It would be shocking if the latter occurred.
Jones can be salvaged, but getting out of New England would be the best way to accomplish that mission.
As for Bailey Zappe, he wasn’t very good coming on in relief. He did better in spots as a starter, providing a bit of a spark when he finally took over. He maneuvered around the pocket much better than Jones and that allowed him to make some plays. He had a three-touchdown first half against Pittsburgh. But he also had the turnover bug (9 picks in six starts) that also plagued Jones.
Together, Jones and Zappe had 16 TD passes, while throwing 21 interceptions. That’s horrendous.
The reason the grade isn’t worse is because they were hampered by a porous offensive line, and receivers who couldn’t get open against man-coverage.
Outside of that, Malik Cunningham, who was thought to be a possible change-up option at quarterback in certain situations, never materialized. That handling of Cunningham, now with the Ravens, was curious to say the least.
Midseason mark: D-plus
Running backs: B-minus
The backs didn’t get out of the gate very well, but started to hit their stride later in the year.
Rhamondre Stevenson, in particular, struggled early, but looked more like he did during his breakout season in 2022 the last three games he played before missing the final five games with an ankle injury.
Ezekiel Elliott, meanwhile, proved to be a good free agent signing for the team. Dallas might have let him go thinking he was about to hit the wall, but Elliott was a steady performer. He still had plenty left in the tank. His effort was unmatched, making a game-saving tackle in one game.
He also wound up the leading rusher (642 yards, 3 TDs), while also leading the team in receptions (51).
Ty Montgomery was a non-factor. Second-year back Kevin Harris showed a little something toward the end.
Midseason mark: C-minus
Wide Receivers: D-plus
Jakobi Meyers, who had chemistry with Mac Jones, was let go. The Patriots thought substituting in JuJu Smith-Schuster, who they signed in free agency, would be more beneficial. That proved a colossal mistake.
Smith-Schuster struggled from the aftershocks of a knee injury he suffered in the AFC Championship game with the Chiefs.
He seemed slow, and also didn’t grasp the offense right away. Smith-Schuster finished with just 29 receptions for 260 yards and a touchdown. He played in 11 games. It didn’t help that Meyers played well in Las Vegas (71 catches, 807 yards, 8 TDs).
DeVante Parker? He was signed to a contract extension in the spring. In the 13 games he played, he caught 33 passes for 394 yards. There were no touchdowns, and plenty of drops.
On the plus side, Kendrick Bourne (37 catches, 406 yards, four TDs) was terrific before suffering a season-ending knee injury. And DeMario Douglas, the 2023 sixth-round pick, was a nice surprise. Statistically, he had the best season for a rookie wideout (49 catches, 561 yards in 14 games) during Belichick’s run as head coach. But with Bourne and Smith-Schuster down, defenses quickly focused their attention on Douglas.
There was no Year 2 leap from Tyquan Thornton.
Jalen Reagor flashed at times, but only saw time at the end of the season.
Rookie Kayshon Boutte was essentially in witness protection after failing to keep his feet in bounds Game 1.
Midseason mark: C-minus
Tight ends: C
The tight ends figured to be a big part of Bill O’Brien’s offense.
Hunter Henry was a reliable target for both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe. One of the few. He rebounded from a down season the previous year.
A knee injury, however, ended Henry’s season early, but he previously played through an ankle injury much of the year and it eventually showed in his play.
More was expected of Mike Gesicki, a free agent signed during the offseason.
He made a few plays in the red zone, which was his strength. But didn’t do much in between catching just 29 passes for 244 yards.
Due to Gesicki’s limitations as a blocker, Pharaoh Brown was used quite a bit when O’Brien employed two-tight end sets.
Brown made some nice plays early on, but his role as a pass-catcher all but disappeared as the year wore on.
Midseason mark: B
Offensive line: D
Two words: Train wreck.
That’s one way to describe the performance of the offensive line.
Part of this is on the front office for not providing adequate depth at tackle.
Neither of the Patriots top free agent acquisitions at the position – Riley Reiff and Calvin Anderson – panned out.
Anderson was sidelined most of the year with an illness. Reiff, in short, was no longer very good, something previous teams had already discovered.
Rookie Sidy Sow got a shot to play right tackle, but that didn’t work. He was better suited to play guard, his normal position, and eventually started at right guard.
Right tackle was a turnstile between Reiff, Anderson, Sow and Vederian Lowe.
Eventually, Michael Onwenu was moved over from right guard to shore up and stabilize the position. It was too little too late.
Trent Brown was fine at left tackle the first half of the season earning top grades from Pro Football Focus. But then he was beset by injuries. His play declined and eventually so did his effort. Connor McDermott took over until injuries ended his season. He wasn’t very good. Lowe actually looked better on the left side at tackle maybe due to the fact he was used to playing on the left.
Second-year left guard Cole Strange showed some flashes but was plagued by injuries throughout.
Rookie Atonio Mafi filled in at left guard, and struggled for the most part.
No problems at center. David Andrews played every snap and was a rock.
Midseason mark: D
Defensive line: A-minus
This was one of the best position groups in 2023-24, if not the best.
Christian Barmore had a breakout season. He was a force pretty much throughout and staked a claim to being among the best defensive linemen in football. He had 49 quarterback pressures, and 40 run stuffs.
Davon Godchaux also delivered up front. Lawrence Guy was solid, while rookie second-round pick Keion White showed a ton of promise. He could be a cornerstone player down the road, along with Barmore.
Anfernee Jennings, meanwhile, was a revelation.
A bit player the previous three seasons, Jennings was strong setting the edge, and making plays. He got more of a chance with Matthew Judon’s injury and made the most of it. He had 46 run stuffs.
He’s a free agent. It’ll be interesting to see if the Patriots make an effort to keep him.
Midseason mark: B
Linebacker: B
The group was dealt a significant blow early with Judon, the best pass rusher, suffering an injury Week 4 that kept him out most of the season.
Josh Uche wasn’t quite as effective as a pass rusher without teams paying attention to Judon on the opposite side, but did play better toward the end of the season. After an 11.5-sack season last year, he had just three this year.
Outside of the pass rushers, Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jahlani Tavai were pretty steady. While Bentley led the team in tackles (114), Tavai really emerged this season. Pro Football Focus had him as their fourth-ranked linebacker.
Tavai was a bright spot, as was Mack Wilson, who was used on a rotational basis. He didn’t quite blossom in an off-ball linebacker role last year and was pretty much relegated to special teams. But the Patriots moved him around this year, and he flashed on the outside as a pass rusher. He was also effective spying the mobile quarterbacks.
Midseason mark: B
Secondary: C-plus
From the cornerback side, the unit had to cope with the loss of rookie Christian Gonzalez, who suffered a season-ending injury Week 4. Gonzalez started as an outside corner right away, and had an impact marking the best receivers on the opposing side.
Matters were further complicated when Jack Jones, another boundary corner, was benched after being late to the team hotel before a game, and eventually cut.
J.C. Jackson, who was reacquired in a trade, had issues both on the field, and off. He was hit or miss in coverage, but was also dealing with reported mental health issues that eventually ended his season.
Still, the Patriots managed to get by with Jonathan Jones, Myles Bryant, Shaun Wade and rookie Alex Austin, who was a late-season signing, filling out the corner spots.
As for the safeties, with Devin McCourty retired, Jabrill Peppers took on a lead role. He set the tone with his physical play. He was also used all over the field in a variety of roles, and performed well.
Meanwhile, Kyle Dugger played quite a bit of free safety in McCourty’s old spot. He started off slow, but came on toward the end.
Peppers and Dugger saw a lion’s share of the action. Jalen Mills and Adrian Phillips had their snaps reduced considerably. Rookie Marte Mapu wasn’t on the field much in the early going, but was used more later in the season. He looked good in spots.
Midseason mark: B-minus
Specialists: D
There was some hope that with Joe Judge back in the saddle – helping Cam Achord – there would be improvement.
There was also some hope that by drafting a kicker with a big leg, that would be an improvement on Nick Folk, who was deadly from 50 yards in, but not so much beyond 50.
Neither took place.
The unit committed 17 special teams penalties. That was second-worst in the NFL, and disastrous for a team that couldn’t afford to make mistakes.
Rookie kicker Chad Ryland, meanwhile, had a tough year. He was 16-of-25 on field goal attempts. His 64 percent conversion rate was dead last among qualified kickers. He missed two potential game-winning kicks including one against the Giants that was a chip shot from 35 yards out.
He missed five kicks from the 40-to-49 range.
Rookie punter Bryce Baringer fared better. He ranked 13th in the league in punts downed inside the 20-yard line. It was a promising first year, although he did have a few shanks in the mix.
On the plus side, Jalen Reagor ran a kick back for a touchdown.
Finally, a salute to special teams legend Matthew Slater, who appears headed for retirement. Great player, and class act.
Midseason mark: C
Coaching: C-minus
The defense was good. The offense and special teams weren’t.
Given injuries on the defense, Jerod Mayo and Steve Belichick did a good job keeping that unit competitive.
Offensively, Bill O’Brien didn’t have a lot to work with, given the issues at tackle as well as a collection of receivers that had trouble separating from coverage. Eventually, his starting quarterback tried to do too much, tried to play beyond his means, and eventually broke in a sea of turnovers.
Given the cast, along with losing Kendrick Bourne, the team’s best receiver, O’Brien was somewhat handcuffed in what he could do. That said, the offense still lacked creativity.
The Joe Judge-led special teams unit, meanwhile, had trouble staying out of the penalty box.
As for the now departed Belichick, he still cooked up some decent defensive schemes to foil many of the quarterbacks and offenses the Patriots faced. But the team still made its share of unforced errors throughout the season.
There were questionable fourth-down calls made on offense. In terms of game management, it wasn’t Belichick’s best year.
Midseason mark: D-plus
NFL fans can wager online on Massachusetts sports betting with enticing promo codes from top online sportsbooks. Use the FanDuel Massachusetts promo code and the DraftKings Massachusetts promo code for massive new user bonuses.
