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A 20-7 loss to the Dolphins in Week 1 has me - and everyone in New England - concerned. PIC: Dave Silverman
This shot from Dave Silverman says it all - the perfectly accurate description of the events in Miami Gardens on Sunday.
It was frustration all around as the Patriots couldn't register more than a touchdown in Sunday's loss to the Dolphins, 20-7. The 'Phins took a 17-0 lead into the locker room at halftime; they were clinical by way of the passing game, they made timely defensive stops, and they never lost control of the game. Mike McDaniel took home his first win as a head coach.
The Dolphins mean business, but this week, it's at the expense of the Patriots. An ugly loss all around. Let's try to make some sense of it and figure out why.
Where is the Offense?
Goodness gracious! This was an abomination to the game of football. The Pats obviously only racked up their 7 points by way of a lone touchdown, which isn't even good enough to win a game in 1990...let alone 2022. They turned the ball over a whopping three times, including a less-than-ideal "fumble-six" at their own two yard line by Melvin Ingram. Their early-down offense (1st and 2nd) was atrocious.
Evan Lazar of Patriots.com called their offense "non-threatening," and that's really the only phrase you can attribute to this Pats offense. Matt Patricia or Joe Judge, it didn't matter at all - the play calls were untimely, they never significantly challenged the Dolphins linebackers OR secondary, and the numbers reflected their lack of offensive competency. Mac Jones' line of 21-for-30 is incredibly deceiving, as he continued to display last year's incompetence in throwing a pass that wasn't down the middle of the field or less than ten yards. How many unsuccessful Go-routes can you throw without realizing a schematic change is necessary?! It's maddening.
Sub-Section: "Garbage"
Call it an overreaction if you wish. But here's how most of the Pats fanbase is feeling...Matt Patricia and Joe Judge are the two worst guys I can think of to be at the helm of this offense.
As the old adage goes: garbage in, garbage out. You can bet when you bring garbage into an organization, the product shows. And people genuinely act surprised...likely story. Hate to say it, but Jim Rome is not only burning...he is right.
Do Your Job Player of the Week: Ty Montgomery
The only touchdown of Week 1 was from Ty Montgomery, who is evolving into more of a journeyman in his 8th year in the NFL. Montgomery, who started off his career backing up Eddie Lacy in Green Bay, quickly emerged as a dual-threat running back (and wide receiver). He racked up his best year - over 800 all purpose yards - in 2016 when Lacy went down with an injury.
Since then, Montgomery hasn't found consistent success, but he definitely has shown streaks. He played 14 games in New Orleans last year, and all sixteen with the Jets in 2019. Montgomery was worth a flier this Pats team desperate for a silver lining, and it paid off this week.
Montgomery caught three of his four targets and was the lone Patriot to find the end zone. While he didn't contribute much rushing, he won't have to - the three-headed monster of Damien Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson, and rookie Pierre Strong will take care of that. His job? Catch passes. Doesn't matter for how long, and doesn't matter when. Just catch them.
The Good News: Mac's OK
Mac Jones took a big hit in the second quarter and never looked the same. After the game, he was escorted to the X-ray room inside Hard Rock Stadium, where he was found to not have any structural damage to his back, which clearly bothered him based on Greg Bedard's video below.
"I know everybody is hungry for an up-to-the-second update, but honestly, the best way to handle these situations is to honestly give it a little time," said Bill Belichick after the game. "See what happens. Run whatever tests or analysis that need to be run, and then go from there. So that's what we always do. That's what we're going to do in this case. That's what we're going to do in every other case with every other injury."
We're On To Pittsburgh
Up next, it's the Steelers, who are fresh off a statement 23-20 win over the AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals. Acrisure Stadium will be bumping. I can't believe I'm saying this, but can the Pats defense shut down Mitch Trubitsky, who seems to have some solid offensive weapons? One thing is for sure - they’ll have to move the football much better than they did this past week. If they don’t take home a win in Week 2, they very well could start 0-4 after a date with Baltimore and the Packers in their next two matchups.
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