Patriots: Vegas Fiasco. Patriots Hit Rock Bottom Against Raiders

Posted By on December 20, 2022

 

The Patriots lost 30-24 to the Raiders on Sunday with the game ending on perhaps the worst play in NFL history: a botched lateral by Jakobi Meyers that was intercepted by Chandler Jones and returned for a touchdown as time expired. While this moment was the singular worst of the season for New England, the entire game represented a rock bottom: bad offense, bad communication, a massive special teams mistake and defense that although had good moments, could not make key plays at the end.

Offense has been a struggle for the Patriots all year and Sunday was terrible. Scoring 17 offensive points against a team that is in the bottom ten in the league in both points and yards allowed per game is bad, but how they looked was even worse. Take the ending of their second possession of the game. After a solid drive, the Patriots had first-and-goal on the two-yard line. A one-yard Rhamondre Stevenson run on first down put them one yard away from the end zone. Then the circus started. Second down saw Jonnu Smith start to break open late only to be overthrown by Mac Jones by five yards. The Patriots actually scored a touchdown on a nice pass from Jones to Meyers on third down, but it was negated by a timeout called by the coaches (presumably Belichick) before the play. On the actual third down, Nelson Agholor got covered well by Amik Robertson and he and Jones couldn’t connect. Confusion after the play caused the Patriots to take another timeout. That’s two timeouts, in two plays, for no yards gained. New England elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal, but a Mac Jones touchdown run was negated by a false start penalty. That’s two touchdowns wiped off the board by New England’s own mistakes.

That situation was far from the only low light for the Patriots offense. Mac Jones was 13/31 for 112 yards. The offense went 2/13 on third down. Jones missed several open receivers. Hunter Henry had a drop that negated a first down. Matt Patricia called three straight pass plays from the Vegas 35-yard line early in the fourth quarter after the Patriots had marched down the field running the ball. All were incomplete with two bad misses by Jones on the first two throws. They had a chance to ice the game late up 24-17, but went three and out including a false start penalty. The offensive line played better than it has most of the season, but it was let down by the quarterback, receivers, tight ends and play calling. And of course, there was the ending.

The Patriots special teams were bad in 2021 and although they’ve been better overall this year, they’ve made several massive and inexcusable mistakes. That happened again on Sunday. New England lined up to punt with 36 seconds left in the first half down 10-3. The ball was snapped before most New England players were ready and it allowed for one of the easiest punt blocks you’ll ever see. Malcolm Koonce was untouched and multiple other Raiders easily got by their blockers. This set up a Raiders touchdown before the half.

 

The Patriots’ defense has played well for most of the season, and they did a solid job against the Raiders overall. Kyle Dugger made a sensational play to intercept a quick pass and return it for a touchdown to get the Patriots back in the game. However, the defining moments of the game saw them come up short. On the first Raiders touchdown, there appeared to be some miscommunication as Adrian Phillips was beat down the seam by Darren Waller and Devin McCourty came off the field angry. Following the blocked punt, they had a chance to get a stop and only hold the Raiders to a field goal. After a Raiders false start to set up first-and-15 at the 25, that prospect looked good. Instead, the Patriots proceeded to commit two penalties and then give up a touchdown pass with four seconds to go in the half. Even though New England ultimately overcame this deficit, it caused them to spend most of the second half playing catch-up; a Raiders field goal there could have altered how the entire second half played out.

Fast forward to the final Raiders possession of the game. Prior to the two-minute warning, Derek Carr threw three straight incompletions to set up a fourth-and-10 at the Raiders 19. Marcus Jones (perhaps a call by the coaches) gave way too much cushion and allowed Mack Hollins to get open to convert the first down. Five plays later, the Raiders were in the end zone. Although the catch by Keelan Cole looked incomplete and I think the officials got it wrong, the Patriots put themselves in that bad situation.

The Patriots are 7-7, in the standings that puts them as an average team. But with three games to go there is no way to characterize this team other than a massive disappointment. New England won 10 games last year and brought back an improved roster for 2022. There have been some good moments, but for the most part their offense has been bad, their special teams winning them one game (Jets) but playing large parts in two other losses (Vikings, Raiders) and their defense missing chances to get timely stops. It all swirled together in a perfect storm of ineptitude on Sunday and probably ended their chances at being a playoff team.