FOXBOROUGH – Three games into the season, and it’s still hard to know what to feel about the Patriots.
They’ve left plenty of bread crumbs, but it’s still too early to know if this season is going to turn out to be uplifting or disappointing.
They started off a hot mess with their Week 1 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Then, Week 2, they provided a measure of hope with their win in Miami, a place they never leave smiling.
Now after Week 3?
Hotter and messier. The 21-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was a train wreck, especially on one side of the ball.
The offense turned the ball over five times. Twice inside the Steelers five-yard line.
“We don’t need to lose a football game to know that turnovers are very hard to overcome,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said after the loss. “They erase all the good things that you do. They take away momentum. They take away points, give them field position. We didn’t need to turn it over as many times as we did to learn a lesson.”
The game was pretty much a microcosm of the season. There were some things to like, some things to build on.
And, then of course, there were some things that make Vrabel want to pull his hair out. The bad football that’s plagued them not only this season, but for many previous years, doesn’t want to leave.
Rhamondre Stevenson was great last week against Miami both running and catching the football. On Sunday, he was back to his fumbling ways. He lost the football twice, once on the doorstep of the end zone.
Even Vrabel doesn’t quite know what to do with him. He’s one of the Patriots best players. He impacted their only win. But he absolutely killed the Patriots Sunday.
“It’s like you sit there, and we were so excited about him, and everybody is excited about him, the fans are, and we know what his capabilities are, and we’ve got to get him back,” Vrabel said. “We need him. We absolutely need him. You see what he was able to do for us last week, his ability to make some plays. Again, we’ll just have to look at the technique and we’ll have to look at the ball security, but we’re going to need him.
“We need his ability, but we also need to take care of the football.”
It’s hard to stick with a persistent fumbler no matter how good.
Antonio Gibson also fumbled. The running back room is supposed to be a strength. Against the Steelers, it was a liability.
Then there’s quarterback Drake Maye. On the plus side, he was 28-for 37, 268 yards and 2 TDs. He made plays with his legs. He made plays to make you believe everything will eventually be fine.
But he was also responsible for two turnovers with an interception and a fumble.
The pick was in the end zone. From the two-yard line. It blow-torched a 19-play drive, as the Patriots dominated large chunks of the football game, only to give it away.
The receiver room, meanwhile, was all but invisible. No one is getting open on a regular basis.
Tight end Hunter Henry, who had a terrific game, caught eight passes for 90 yards, and two touchdowns. He was targeted 11 times by Maye.
DeMario Douglas, who had a bigger role this week than last, was targeted five times. He only had two catches, and couldn’t gain the necessary yard to keep the Patriots last minute drive alive.
On the 4th-and-1, he inexplicably tried to circle around would-be tacklers after making the catch, instead of simply forging ahead. Douglas said he knew where the first-down marker was, and knew what he needed to gain. He just made a bad decision stepping backward, as opposed to driving forward toward the sticks.
The Patriots had gone 4-for-4 on their previous fourth down plays. Vrabel even did the unthinkable – rolled the dice on a 4th-and-1 from his own 15. He was trying to stay aggressive and give the team a boost. A vote of confidence.
It worked. They made that conversion and methodically moved down the field, before … wait for it … turning the ball over.
Two steps forward, three steps back.
The defense, meanwhile, had its best game of the year, even as two starters (Christian Elliss, Alex Austin) were benched in the second half.
The number of missed tackles was down. So were the explosive plays allowed.
Robert Spillane (15 tackles) was a beast.
This was a very winnable game, much like the first. The Patriots, however, are still at a point where they can’t get out of their own way.
“There’s a lot to clean up,” Vrabel said. “A lot of good in there, but unfortunately just not enough to get us the win, to get us to really have any sort of advantage in the football game.”
Will it just be a matter of time before it’s clicking on all cylinders, and they can win back-to-back games? Or, will the roller coaster ride be the norm the rest of the way.
The players, however, seemed more encouraged, than discouraged, by what transpired against the Steelers.
“I told our guys after the game, if our defense plays like that all year, we’re going to win a lot of games. They were lights out,” center Garrett Bradbury said. “They kept getting stops when we needed them. They kept the momentum our way. It’s like beating a dead horse, but if we sustain those drives, and finish with touchdowns, we’d be feeling a lot better right now, even with the turnovers.”
Bradbury believes it will come together. He doesn’t want to “live in this turnover world” the rest of the year. He believes the mistakes will evaporate. It’s just a matter of time.
“It’s promising. It gives you encouragement,” Bradbury said, talking about the margin between winning and losing. “We’ll get it corrected. If we can be that much better, just a little bit better, then we’ll turn these close games into wins.”
Or remain stuck with more of the same.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
