JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Everything you need to know from the Patriots’ loss over to the Jaguars in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:
HEADLINES
Defense gets worked by Jaguars: For the Patriots, almost all the injury/depth concerns are on the offensive side of the ball, but you wouldn't have known it Sunday. Basically, everything Jacksonville wanted to do offensively, they were able to do it from the get-go. The Jaguars scored touchdowns on three of their four first-half possessions, and none of the drives went for less than 50 yards. They led 21-3 at halftime — a deficit that was going to be tough to overcome on the road against a quality opponent. The Jaguars averaged 7.1 yards per rush in the first half, while Blake Bortles was 17-of-25 for 200 yards and three touchdowns (131.7 rating) in the same span. Jacksonville had 18 first downs in the first half, and converted 5 of 6 third downs. Even when the Patriots were able to make it a game in the second half, Kyle Van Noy missed a tackle and no one else could bring down Dede Westbrook on a 61-yard drag route that made it 31-13 with 7:35 left.
"We just obviously didn’t do anything well enough -- or close to well enough -- to be able to take a win today," Bill Belichick said.
TURNING POINT
Patriots were trailing 24-13 with 12:35 left in the game with the ball at the Jaguars' 24-yard line after an interception by Van Noy. Facing third-and-9, Brady was strip-sacked on the play by Dante Fowler, who had beaten RT LaAdrian Waddle. The Jaguars recovered. The turnover was just a killer -- even if Brady just takes a sack there, the Patriots can kick a field goal and make it a one-score game. Getting no points there effectively ended the game.
SECOND GUESS
After replay reversed a first down and made it fourth-and-inches for New England from its own 18 with 8:01 left, Belichick elected to punt. On the Jaguars' first play, they scored a 61-yard touchdown. I'm sorry, but if you can't pick up two inches there, you have no business winning an NFL. The Patriots should have gone for it. Did Belichick give any thought to it? "We decided to punt," he said. OK then.
THREE UP
CB Stephon Gilmore: Gave up a touchdown to Donte Moncrief — when he had good position, but didn't make a play on the ball — but overall, he held Moncrief to four catches on nine targets and just 34 yards. Gilmore was also very physical in help coverage and against the run, and forced a fumble to get the Patriots back into it.
RB James White: Caught seven of eight targets for 73 yards, and really should have been featured more. If Brady isn't going to throw to Gronkowski, White is really the only go-to guy the quarterback has. He's money every time.
WR Chris Hogan: Had both touchdowns for the Patriots, but only had one more reception on five targets. The Patriots need him to be more of a presence.
THREE DOWN
CB Eric Rowe: Got benched in the second quarter for Jason McCourty after he was burned repeatedly by the much faster Keelan Cole early on. "It hurts, but I wasn't getting the job done," Rowe said. "It's hard to admit ... it's the NFL, there's no time to sit and self-loathe. I've just got to go back and work."
LB Dont'a Hightower: Looked slow and old in this game. This defense needs Hightower to play at a Pro Bowl level for them to have a chance.
LB Ja'Whaun Bentley: The rookie looked like a rookie as he had a lot of issues with the Jaguars' motion and speed of the running backs (namely Corey Grant, who killed the Patriots again).
INJURIES
DE Trey Flowers (concussion): Collided with Keionta Davis and did not return to the game.
S Patrick Chung (concussion): Was ruled out at halftime and did not return. Looked wobbly near the end of the first half and probably shouldn't have been on the field for the touchdown he allowed to Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
DE Deatrich Wise (left hand): Stopped playing in the middle of a play with about three minutes left in the game. Walked off with his hand under a towel. Usually a sign of a dislocation.
THREE TAKES BEDARD WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Don't overreact: If we've learned nothing about these latter Patriots, it's that they use the first month of the season as an extension of the preseason and they don't have the kinks worked out yet. They started 2-2 in 2014 and '17 with terrible losses to the Chiefs, and wound up winning the Super Bowl and reaching the Super Bowl in each of those seasons. Yeah, the Patriots got whupped by the Jaguars and looked old, slow and lacked explosion on both sides of the ball. But this was a quality opponent on the road in brutal heat. It was a tough deal and they'll rebound.
It wasn't an illegal pick play on the Jaguars' third touchdown: My twitter feed was abuzz with calls for the Jaguars to be flagged for an illegal pick on the touchdown to Seferian-Jenkins. While it could have have been called there, I don't think it was an illegal pick. It's only illegal if the referee can determine that the offensive initiated contact with an intent to affect the defender. (I wrote a whole story on it when I was at SI.)
There’s a gray area that forces officials to judge intent. Incidental contact, just one guy running into another, is also not an infraction.
“What is that offensive guy doing?” Daopoulos says. “Is he trying to gain an advantage by rubbing somebody off? Has he initiated some contact that has put that defender at a disadvantage? That's what you're looking for. You’re looking for somebody gaining an advantage by doing something that they shouldn't be doing.”
....
“If they run their guys into each other, as long as neither one of them are initiating the contact [on purpose], it’s OK.”