FOXBOROUGH – DeMario “Pop” Douglas sat with his head down at this locker for quite some time following the Patriots 23-20 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
He flipped through his phone, and then just sat alone with his thoughts.
Having no catches, and zero targets likely had something to do with his demeanor. But it’s hard to say for sure since Douglas refused to talk with the media after the game.
Tyquan Thornton was another no-catch-no-target man.
In all, Patriots receivers were targeted just five times in the loss, catching three balls for a whopping 19 yards.
The stat sheet for the wideouts was a bit better Week 1 in Cincinnati, but it still wasn’t much to brag about.
That didn’t stop Alex Van Pelt from bragging.
In the lead up to the Seahawks game, the Patriots offensive coordinator seemed confident his team would manage just fine if Jacoby Brissett had to heave the ball up 40 times to his receivers to win a game. He didn’t sound the least bit worried about moving the ball and scoring if an opposing team managed to shut down his vaunted run game.
That was either wishful thinking on Van Pelt’s part, or a complete bluff aimed at the Seahawks.
The Patriots did run the ball pretty well against Seattle. Rhamondre Stevenson (21 carries, 81 yards) and Antonio Gibson (11 carries, 96 yards) were a nice 1-2 punch. And when Brissett was forced to throw, he found a connection with Hunter Henry (8 catches, 109 yards).
Most of those hookups came with Brissett scrambling out of the pocket to avoid the rush, while improvising on the move. He found Henry numerous times on those plays.
The receivers?
With the exception of Ja’Lynn Polk’s 5-yard touchdown catch, they were pretty much invisible. In a tight game, not having that game-breaking type player, or elite receiver makes a difference.
Just consider Seattle. Their two difference making wideouts – DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba – delivered. They combined for 22 catches, 247 yards and a touchdown. They had no problem getting open.
While the Patriots have good receivers, none of them hold a candle to that duo.
Brissett, whose 15 completions netted a meager 149 yards, took the bullet for the lack of production from his receiver room.
“Yeah, I think obviously we would like more in our passing game,” he said. “I’ve got to do a better job of getting a lot of those guys involved in the game plan and throughout the game. I take responsibility for that.”
Douglas’ lack of use is puzzling. Granted, it’s tough for Brissett to hit his receivers on the longer routes with an offensive line that struggles to pass block. On most drop-backs, he doesn’t have the time. He’s running for his life.
But the beauty of Douglas is his ability to get open quickly. The Seahawks were playing zone for the most part. They also played two safeties deep. They probably didn’t mind Douglas not having his number called. Going forward, Van Pelt needs to design more plays to get the ball in his hands. Whether it’s end-arounds, wide receiver screens, quick hitters, Douglas needs to be more involved in the offense.
Three targets in two games isn’t going to cut it.
Jerod Mayo didn’t argue during his post-game press conference.
“We have to get him going. We have to scheme up some things for him,” the Patriots coach said of Douglas following the loss. “He’s one of our most explosive players, and that’s on us as coaches to put it together.”
While Polk was utilized a bit more, catching his first touchdown pass, it still wasn’t anywhere near enough. The rookie, however, wasn’t going to complain about lack of use.
“That’s out of my control,” said Polk, who had two catches while being targeted three times. “I just go out there, whatever they call, I do my best to execute the play.”
Osborn (1 catch, 2 targets) also wouldn’t throw anyone under the bus.
“The run game was going,” Osborn said. “Obviously as a receiver, you want the pass game to go. But at the end of the day, we just gotta do what we gotta do to win.”
Did Osborn feel the receivers were getting open?
“Yeah, of course,” he answered.
That might be, but Brissett hasn’t been willing to throw the ball into smaller windows and risk turnovers. He’s making the safe throws, and that’s likely by design.
Henry, meanwhile, knows the passing game can’t survive with tight ends alone. Once the Seahawks did a better job covering him in the second half, the receivers still did zip.
“We’re going to need those guys. We’ve got a good group in there,” the tight end said of the receiver room. “They need to hold their heads high, because we’re going to need them to make big plays. The ball wasn’t finding them today, but we’re going to need them this week and going forward.”
That lack of offensive talent at the key positions, however, remains the story for the 1-1 team. That narrative hasn’t changed from the offseason.
While the team competes tooth and nail, issues with the offensive line severely hamper what the Patriots can do. Having a stable of receivers without a legitimate top gun or elite playmaker also doesn’t help. Or how about having a receiver who gets open regularly where it’s almost automatic for the quarterback?
And Brissett, as valiantly as he fights and takes punishment behind a porous line, isn’t a difference-maker at quarterback.
Up by three (20-17) with the ball on the Seahawks 25 after Antonio Gibson’s 45-yard run with 7:11 to play, the Patriots came away without points. After two modest gains, Brissett was sacked on third down to move them back and Joey Slye’s field goal attempt was blocked.
When the Patriots got the ball in overtime, Brissett & Co. went three-and-out. Unlike the Cincy game, the Patriots couldn’t close this one out.
“Each team is going to try to attack us different ways. We definitely have to start to get the ball down the field,” Mayo said. “We’ve got to start pushing the ball down the field to get that shell defense, and we’ve got to be able to run. We’ve got to be able to pass. We’ve got to be able to ping-pong between the two.”
There was no ping-ponging to speak of. Just a disappointing finish to a winnable game.
