In the wake of another subpar performance on Sunday against the Steelers, we have five leftover questions for the New England offense.
1. What's happened to James White the last two games?
The Patriots fancy themselves as a week-to-week, game-plan team, but White has been minimized the last two games with a combined 13 touches (seven catches, six carries) in two losses. That’s after a midseason stretch where he distinguished himself as the team MVP — there was a five-game stretch between late-September and late-October where he averaged just over 15 touches a game. On Sunday against the Steelers, he caught five passes to push his 2018 total to 81 receptions, the most by a New England running back in a single season. He also had 25 receiving yards to push his 2018 total to 699, the most by a Patriots running back in a single season. He was asked after the game about his recent dip in production, and he shrugged it off. In my experience, it's not the only reason behind the losses, but it isn't completely coincidental. One thing? New England could be trying to keep him on a pitch count in advance of the postseason — he has 163 touches after 13 games (81 catches, 82 carries) after never having more than 99 in a single season.
2. What’s with all the penalties along the offensive line?
This was a group that was holding up really nicely when it came to avoiding penalties … and then, the Jets game happened on Nov. 25. That one seemed to be the turning point for a group that has seen plenty of flags since then. After being hit with just one penalty over the first 10 games, Trent Brown has been flagged three times in the last four games, including twice against the Steelers. Joe Thuney had two penalties over the first 10 weeks, but three in the last four games. Marcus Cannon has now had three in the last two weeks, including a false start and holding on Sunday against Pittsburgh. For what it’s worth, Tom Brady said after the game the officials told him they were “trying to call (holding) tighter.” Ultimately, the offensive line struggled in the face of the Steelers’ pressure several times on Sunday, but the penalties also contributed to one of their least memorable games of the season. As the playoffs near and the margin for error gets thinner, it's something that needs to be addressed moving forward.
3. Is there a solution for the recent red-zone inefficiency?
On Sunday, the Patriots were 0-for-3 in the red zone — dating back to the Miami game, they haven’t scored a touchdown in their last five red-zone trips. Overall, they’re now eighth in the AFC and 16th in the league when it comes to overall touchdown percentage inside the 20 at 58 percent, or 29-for-50. (By way of comparison, the Steelers are the best team in the league at 76.7 percent.) Simply put, it’s a maddening stat for a team with so much offensive talent. New England saw a bit of an improvement the previous two weeks with the addition of James Develin as a red-zone, short-yardage threat, but on Sunday, No. 46 didn’t get the ball. Ultimately, there doesn’t seem to be one commonality when it comes to their red-zone woes — on Sunday, it was lack of execution, ill-timed penalties and poor decision-making that did them in. One other thing worth noting in the context of this conversation? The Patriots don’t have a big back on the roster next year, a LeGarrette Blount-type who can serve as a hammer in short-yardage situations. Look for New England to try and identify one this offseason. Until then, Develin may be their best option.
4. Is there a reason behind the stark home-road scoring splits?
Honestly, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of commonalities between the offensive struggles away from Gillette. As we wrote here in the wake of the loss to the Steelers, the Patriots averaged 21.6 points per game in their eight road games this season. (If you take a pair of touchdowns away from them because of the two special teams touchdowns they scored in the win over the Bears in Chicago, that average drops to 19.9 points per game.) By way of comparison, the last time they were anywhere near that low was 2009, when they averaged 22.1 points per game away from home. At home? New England has averaged 33.5 points per game through six contests. It’s a stunning point differential, one that will be underscored by the fact the Patriots will have to likely go on the road for at least one and perhaps multiple playoff games, depending on how the rest of the regular season shakes out.
5. We can talk a lot about the loss of Danny Amendola and what it meant to the offense, but you know who else this team could use right now? Malcolm Mitchell.
While newcomers like Josh Gordon and Cordarrelle Patterson have made gains over the course of the season, Brady clearly has some trust issues with a few of his targets when it comes specifically to making downfield throws. Mitchell, who carved out a rep as a dependable presence in the passing game in 2016, would have been a trusted presence for Brady as an intermediate to deep threat. He wasn’t a home-run hitter, but the quarterback had faith in him as someone who was capable of making a big catch at an important time.