GLENDALE, Ariz. – High above the field inside State Farm Stadium, Jonathan Kraft probably thought he was speaking away from prying eyes. While the Patriots team president spoke to his father, owner Robert Kraft, it was easy to see that he was displeased.
Following an 18-yard catch and run, the Patriots were 34 yards away from the end zone. After an Antonio Gibson run lost a yard, Alex Van Pelt called a delayed handoff that resulted in a loss of 5 yards.
That’s when the cameras caught Jonathan Kraft looking upset. Online lip readers pointed out that he likely said something about the Patriots offensive play calling being “terrible.”
As Sunday’s game went on, Van Pelt wasn’t the only coach under fire. The Patriots defense gave up 14 points in the fourth quarter, allowed big plays, and failed to stop Arizona on third down (the Cardinals were 10-of-15). That led to defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington taking criticism.
The Patriots 30-17 loss to the Cardinals also reflected poorly on head coach Jerod Mayo. Coming out of a bye week, the team didn’t look well-prepared or improved.
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Inside the visitor’s locker room, however, the tenure of the conversation was different amongst Patriots players. Veterans refused to point fingers at their coaches, stuck up for their head coach, and universally took the blame for what went wrong on Sunday.
“I think we all have earned the criticism that we receive – coaches, players, everyone,” Jonathan Jones said. “At the end, this is a results business. And the results we put out there, our record, what we’ve done – hasn’t been good enough. We’ve all earned the criticism.”
Patriots defense takes ownership
Players know the results aren’t good enough – especially on defense.
Historically, this unit has been a top-10 defense in the NFL. The Patriots entered this week ranked 21st in points allowed per game and 19th in total defense. Last year, they finished 15th in points allowed and seventh in total defense.
The lack of results this season has led to increased criticism toward Mayo, who acted as a co-defensive coordinator with Steve Belichick last year, and his new defensive coordinator, Covington.
That criticism bothers defensive tackle Christian Barmore.
“I feel like they don’t understand that they’re really great coaches,” Barmore said. “I feel like we just got to play our game, stay focused. We have real great coaches, a great head coach for sure, great DC. We have to keep moving forward.”
Jabrill Peppers agreed with Barmore and explained that people didn’t realize why the defense was struggling.
The safety said that on Sunday, the Cardinals ran plays the defense prepared for before arriving in Phoenix. He said his teammates lacked the attention to details and noted if Covington made the right call, it didn’t matter if players didn’t do what we needed.
For example, in the first quarter, a James Connor run play went for 53 yards. Pepper said the Patriots practiced that play, which is a staple for the Cardinals offense. However, he said players made a mistake saying, “We were definitely in the right play in my opinion. That’s a play that we repped in practice against that call. We set the front the opposite way.”
When that happened, Connor bounced outside, instead of inside like the team prepared for.
Peppers said when players didn’t execute how they’re taught, it led to explosive plays. He noted the defense misses Ja’Whaun Bentley absence hurts when it comes to “getting the front set the right way.”
That’s why he put the problems on himself and his teammates.
“It’s not on the coaches,” Peppers said. “I feel like whatever they call, as long as we execute the right way, as long as we’re all on the same page, we can survive the down. I just think it’s too much of a lack of attention on the details. Just repeat mistakes. At the end of the day, a lot of people like to blame the coaches. I’m not one of those guys… A lot of the outside world don’t understand the ins and outs of the X’s and O’s and how one simple call can affect the whole defense. If we’re not all on the same page, that’s an explosive play.”
The overall play of the defense has been especially frustrating for Godchaux. He noted, back in 2021, that he signed with the Patriots because historically, they had one of the best defenses in the NFL. Over the last three seasons, the unit finished No. 4, No. 8, and No. 7 in total defense.
Godchaux said he’s upset that this defense hasn’t lived up to expectations but won’t put it on his head coach.
“Jerod’s playing days are over. He’s on the sideline, seeing it as a coach now. Players have to take accountability,” Godchaux said. “The players are out there 100% of the time. Not Jerod. When you’re a head coach, that’s the kind of heat you’re going to take and I’m sure he knows. Players, we know we have to take accountability and we have to play better.”
Patriots offense won’t point fingers
It’s easy to second-guess an offensive play call. For Van Pelt, several moments are easy to question from Sunday’s loss.
It started on the first drive. The Patriots got down to the Arizona 33 only to go backward due to a Layden Robinson holding penalty. Then faced with a third-and-10, Van Pelt called a short screen pass to DeMario Douglas. The play gained 4 yards but Joey Slye missed a 53-yard field goal attempt.
On that play, however, Kendrick Bourne took responsibility for missing his block. When it comes to the blame game, the receiver said the entire organization needs to take accountability.
“It’s everything. It’s all of us. We take pride in being a group. Everybody is in it together – upstairs, coaches, players,” Bourne said. “That’s how we have to move. Personally, I take accountability just doing things better. We have to have that kind of group. From my perspective, I don’t look at it like that. I look at it like what can I do to get better? What can players do to execute on the field?… I missed a block on Pop’s run. Those are the little plays I take accountability for.”
The playcalling in the first half was conservative. Drake Maye went into halftime completing 10-of-10 passes for 71 yards on mostly shorter throws. The offense didn’t look efficient until they ran the 2-minute drill at the end of the game.
When they did that, the Patriots scored their only two touchdowns.
Although it’s easy to point to that as a reason for Van Pelt to be more aggressive, Maye said that wasn’t fair.
“It was tough for AVP because we really didn’t get into a rhythm, Maye said. “It’s easy when you get into a rhythm to call some deeper stuff and get that going… Then we’re in comeback mode. That’s when we could open it up. They’re playing simpler coverages and playing ‘just keep it in front.’ it’s a little easier to pick them apart.”
Part of the reason the Patriots were in ‘comeback mode’ was their failure in the red zone earlier. In the third quarter, the offense was stuffed two plays in a row on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 on the 4-yard line.
That was a prime example of the offensive line losing their battles. That was the case all day.
In the first three drives, the offensive line struggled. A Robinson hold negated a 15-yard run. Center Ben Brown bounced two snaps to Maye, one leading to a punt. Left tackle Vederian Lowe missed several blocks, which resulted in two negative run plays and a sack on third down.
That included the Gibson run, which drew Jonathan Kraft’s ire.
Michael Onwenu explained those mistakes weren’t on the coaches.
“The coaching staff is doing well. We’re the ones who are playing the game. I don’t put nothing on the coaches,” Onwenu said. “We’re the players, the ones who have to execute and play the game. Obviously, we need to do better and have more focus… The plays we’re running are good. The offense we have is good. We have good plays but you’re only as good as you play.”
