See big play. Blame cornerbacks.
Rinse and repeat. Welcome to NFL Sundays (and Mondays).
People tuning into the Patriots' eventual 30-27 victory over the Jets watched with horror as the Corpse of Joe Flacco lit up the Patriots for three touchdowns and a 128.7 passer rating despite throwing an interception.
A 50-yard bomb to Breshad Perriman over JC Jackson.
Denzel Mims for 26 yards.
A 23-yard touchdown to Jamison Crower.
A 41-yard pass interference penalty on Jason McCourty.
And there was more. Flacco averaged 10.5 yards per attempt.
Naturally, the conventional wisdom out of that game was, "Guess JC Jackson isn't that good ... Guess we should hang on to Stephon Gilmore. ... Jason McCourty is stealing money."
Some or any of that may be true ... but this wasn't a game to trot out that storyline.
This game wasn't about the back end of the Patriots' defense. In what is becoming a constant theme this season — and a fear going forward — it was about the front end.
The Patriots just can't get any pressure on the quarterback — even after the Jets' man-child left tackle Mekhi Becton left with an injury (he was rag-dolling Deatrich Wise up until then like Wise was a 150-pound pipsqueak — and No. 91 is not that).
On just about every big play the Jets had, the Patriots tried to bring some sort of pressure, they didn't get within 3 yards of Flacco and he picked them apart. Take a look:
On the first big play — 26 yards to Mims on 2nd and 5 — the Patriots are in off-coverage because they are coming on a zero blitz. The problem? The Patriots don't get near Flacco.
I don't care who your quarterback is, if the defense doesn't put enough pressure on the passer and make him feel rushed, even a washed-up former starter is going to tear you apart. It reminded me of that 2011 game — when the Patriots were terrible on defense but amazingly nearly won a Super Bowl — when Dan Orlovsky shredded the Patriots for the 0-10 Colts on 30 of 37 passing for 353 yards.
The Patriots this season have only made the opposing QB feel pressure over 30 percent of the time (that's about average) on three occasions and it was only because those QBs — Ryan Fitzpatrick, Russell Wilson and Josh Allen — love to hold onto the ball and extend plays, in an effort to make plays (they're bringing pressure onto themselves, really).
Outside of the 49ers game, when the game got out of hand and it was clear Kyle Shanahan's gameplan was for Jimmy Garoppolo to not hold onto the ball for more than 2 seconds, the Patriots are blitzing more than they usually.
It didn't get home, again, vs. the Jets (28.6 pressure rate is not good).
If you compare the Patriots to last year at this time — when they were the No. 1 defense in the league (they're now 31st according to FootballOutsiders.com's DVOA) — the difference is striking in terms of pressure generated.
Sacks have decreased by 64.5 percent from 31 to 11.
Total pressure has fallen 34.6 percent.
Of course, this isn't all about pressuring the quarterback. Everything relates to each other.
The Patriots are terrible on first and second down this season, which leads to fewer long-yardage situations that favor the defense because they know a pass is likely.
The Patriots also were designed to play ball control on offense with the lead ... and they didn't have one since Week 3 before holding it for about 9 total minutes against the Jets.
The Patriots also just don't have the personnel. They've never had a dominant outside pass rusher — and that is definitely the case now with guys like John Simon and Shilique Calhoun playing more snaps than ever. Yes, Chase Winovich is a good player but it'd be a longshot for him to turn into a T.J. Watt or a player of that ilk. Could Josh Uche help at some point when Bill Belichick decides to trust a young player to walk and chew gum at the same time? Sure.
But the Patriots are still going to have to scheme up their pressure, and if Adam Butler can't get on the field because the Patriots can't stop the run, that's an issue. The Patriots get no movement up front to even start their Amoeba defense — check out Miami, where it's still used effectively because they have, you know, talent.
Let's say in an ideal world, that Uche and Winovich are starters next year with Lawrence Guy and a stud young tackle on the interior, and they find an impact linebacker in free agency to play alongside Dont'a Hightower (if he comes back and the Patriots want to pay him his number after a year off). Are the Patriots suddenly a lot better in one year? I doubt it. This seems like a long rebuild, and Monday night's effort was further evidence of that.
OFFENSE
Quarterback (3.5 out of 5)
Thought Cam Newton had a good, solid game but he did have a few key errors, like the sack he took and his trip on 3rd and 1 when they were setting up to run the Jacoby Brissett end around (it would have been sniffed out). ... We covered how well Newton executed down the stretch after the game. ... He still needs to continue to play in the rhythm of the offense. That's vital. ... Teams have started to catch on that Newton does not handle the blitz well (Patriots are among the worst in the league against the blitz and more teams are sending extra rushers. In three of the previous four games (the lone outlier was the 49ers, who don't blitz and had the score on their side), the opponent has blitzed on at least 40 percent of snaps. The first four opponents were never above 28 percent. Teams have stopped fearing Newton's legs and how man coverage might lead to runs. He might need to run more.
Running backs (5 out of 5)
Just outstanding. Damien Harris continued to look the part as a gamebreaker with a love of contact (that may have gotten him hurt ... get well soon!). The more he plays, the better he gets. ... Rex Burkhead was great and got a ton of tough yards in between the tackles due to his strength, vision and cut-back ability. They form a good duo. Thunder and Lightning.
Receivers (4 out of 5)
Let's face it, it was the Jakobi Meyers show and he was great, but he is lacking in the run blocking department overall (had a nice one on Damiere Byrd's near touchdown). Perhaps that's why he wasn't playing more. Due to opponents putting more players into the box, the receivers had to play more in line. That's what normally happens against aggressive fronts. Meyers was in the Julian Edelman role. It's a very physical role. Can he handle it? ... Ryan Izzo had three really nice blocks in this one, and five bad ones. A day in the life... Can they please sign a blocking TE?
Offensive line (2 out of 5)
Isaiah Wynn and Joe Thuney had three negative plays combined. David Andrews, Shaq Mason and Michael Onwenu had 18. ... Not sure I've ever seen Andrews get pushed back this much, including on that 4th and 1 carry by White. The play was there, but Andrews got in White's way. ... Best to worst: Thuney, Wynn, Mason, Andrews, Onwenu.
DEFENSE
Defensive line (1.5 out of 5)
This is my defensive line plus/minus chart against the Jets.
This is the chart against the Chiefs.
You won't understand all that this means, but do you notice the lack of positive plays (left side) for the Jets game (15)? That's the point. The Chiefs game was typical and a solid game (18). Against the Jets, it was basically Deatrich Wise with some rough plays, and Chase Winovich. Outside of that, no one really did anything. The Patriots didn't create very many negative plays in this game. They were flaccid up front.
Linebackers (2 out of 5)
The grand total from the linebackers? Three plus plays (two by Terez Hall) and one minus play where Anfernee Jennings forgot he was supposed to be the Tampa in Tampa 2 on a big Jets reception. Even Adrian Phillips didn't do much. Man, this team really misses Lawrence Guy when he's not out there to occupy blockers. What a feeble front-seven effort in this game.
Secondary (1 out of 5)
Thanks to the front seven not doing anything, the secondary was hung out to dry. The group had 14 negative plays, which is about three games' worth. Certainly there was an issue with the lack of pressure, but the Patriots also had problems sorting out some of the Jets' stacks. Part of that was Adam Gase knowing how to scheme against the Patriots. Some of it was just laziness and going through the motions, especially on the part of Jason McCourty. ... Thee 50-yard touchdown was not all JC Jackson. It was a good and typical route combination (high-low) designed to be a Cover 1 beater and to put the free safety (Devin McCourty in conflict). McCourty had to decide between the under and over route. Flacco was reading him. When McCourty chose the under, Flacco went up top and Jackson had no safety help.
THREE UP
WR Jakobi Meyers: Great against zone coverage and toughness and smarts elevate him to another level, but I want to see him do this against a faster and more physical man coverage team like the Ravens and then we can talk about him being a starter for the future. Right now he's a No. 3 or 4.
LG Joe Thuney: Coming off one of the worst games of his career (likely due to injury), Thuney was great wth just one hurry allowed.
RBs Damien Harris/Rex Burkhead: Both of them ran extremely well and physical. Have developed into a very good tandem, and I really don't want that to be broken up with you-know-who about to come back.
THREE DOWN
CB Jason McCourty: Looked like he was going through the motions in this game with a missed tackle and bad penalty.
TE Ryan Izzo: The good news? He had three really good run blocks in this game, including on Newton's 5-yard TD run. The bad news? He still had another four poor run blocks, including 1.5 stuffed runs, and a QB knockdown.
WR Gunner Olszewski: He wasn't this slow and indecisive in training camp. He's thinking too much. If he keeps this up, he won't be in the league very long. Cut it loose!