There have been times this season when a clearly talent-deficient Patriots team couldn't get out of their own way to win games they normally take.
Losses to the Broncos, Bills and Texans stand out in this regard. You could almost lump the Jets game in there, but Gang Green is just that bad on their way to a winless season. New York couldn't hand the game over quick enough to the Patriots with that late Joe Flacco interception.
So if there's anything to be taken away from Sunday's 20-17 victory over the Cardinals — who may be in the midst of a freefall since they stand just a Hail Mary away from losing four straight games as teams figure out Kliff Kingsbury's limited offense — it's that the Patriots are still good enough as a football team, to take a gift from a team like Arizona and deliver a victory.
Even when their offense needed help from the defense, special teams and the Cardinals to slap together an average of 31.3 yards gained per scoring drive (no, that's not a misprint, the Patriots' scoring drives were 41, 35, 31 and 18 yards)
And did the Cardinals ever try to hand the Patriots this game:
KYLER MURRAY WAS CLEARLY LIMITED
If you haven't watched the Cardinals much previous to Sunday, you probably wondered what all the hype was about as Murray was mentioned as candidates for NFL MVP and/or Offensive Player of the Year.
Just 170 yards passing? 5.0 yards per attempt (Cam Newton had 4.7)? Five rushes for 31 yards?
Yeah, nothing to write home about ... if you haven't seen Murray previously.
Those of us who have been watching Murray all year long know that was not the real Murray on Sunday. The right shoulder injury he sustained against the Seahawks the game prior not only limited him in practice, but it clearly affected the way the Cardinals used him. Just consider this:
In the previous four games before the shoulder injury, Murray averaged 11.5 carries and 77.0 yards per game and rushed for five touchdowns. This is what he normally looks like, when healthy:
Kyler Murray takes 1,000 steps to run in the 19-yard TD
pic.twitter.com/gr2ut80jWI
— PFF (@PFF) September 20, 2020
Against the Seahawks and Patriots, Murray averaged 5.0 carries and 23 yards, and scored no touchdowns. Of Murray's five rushes against New England, just two were designed runs. That's not the normal Cardinals offense, which has Murray's legs as a foundational part of what they do. That threat keeps defenses honest — similar to Newton (and we all know how limited he is having to rely on just his passing).
Once the Patriots got to halftime and realized the Cardinals were not going to run Murray — his one carry in the first half was a keep-you-honest read-option for minus-2 yards where, in my opinion, a healthy Murray cuts the ball up field but, because his right shoulder would take the hit, he basically fled out of bounds — they were able to be much more aggressive in the second half without the fear of him taking off.
Murray first half: 14 of 20, 131 yards, 87.8 rating
Murray second half: 9 of 14, 39 yards, 1 INT, 38.4 rating
KIRK'S DROP, KINGSBURY'S DECISION CHANGED THE GAME
In a drive reminiscent of how they defended (or better yet, didn't defend) Deshaun Watson the previous week, the Patriots looked helpless defensively as the Cardinals took the ball with 6:57 left in the first half, and kept the ball the entirety before halftime, marching 15 plays and 71 yards before being stopped on 4th and inches as time expired.
In the game, the Patriots allowed four drives of seven plays or more, including three that averaged 14.3 plays and 73.0 yards.
I'm sorry, but if you allow three behemoth drives that long, you're not playing good defense. After all, Bill Belichick told us Newton's yards in a loss to the Texans were at least somewhat important. The truth is revealed about Bend But Don't Break!
And the Cardinals would have ended the first half — and they were getting the ball to start the second — with a score if Christian Kirk didn't drop a sure touchdown due to an unforced error, not good defense (JC Jackson was clearly beaten and late).
If the Cardinals went up 17-7 and got the ball, it would have been a repeat of the Texans game when Houston scored with 10 seconds left to end a 9-play, 80-yard drive and go up 21-10. It was a deficit the Patriots could never make up, even with Newton throwing for 365 yards. With how bad Newton was on Sunday, it's likely the Patriots would have been blown out.
Credit to the Patriots for rallying on the next two plays to not give up any points, and get a huge emotional lift going into halftime.
Of course, Kingsbury made a second-year coaching mistake not taking the field goal, going up 13-7, getting the ball to start the 2nd half and not letting the Patriots get that jolt.
CARDINALS FINALLY BLOW IT FOR GOOD
After Newton throws a back-breaking interception that should have lost the game, the Cardinals still couldn't take advantage of it. They gained one first down and ran the ball four straight times — without using Murray (another indication of his poor health) — before settling for a 45-yard field goal that Zane Gonzalez missed.
Kingsbury and the Cardinals made multiple mistakes in the final two minutes:
- Didn't give Murray — one of the most dangerous weapons in the league — a run-pass option on third down.
- You could make a convincing argument to go for it on fourth down. Missing the field goal gave the Patriots 8 yards of better field position (from the 27-yard line to the 35-yard line). After Newton just threw a terrible interception, a good coach would have known the Patriots would be afraid to let Newton air it out again. Those 8 yards made a huge difference in the end. In fact, EdjSports called Kingsbury's decision to not go for it there the worst playcall of Week 12.
- I would subscribe that the decision of defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to blitz and play man coverage on 3rd and 13 at the New England 32-yard line with 56 seconds left — and then add in Isaiah Simmons' personal foul penalty — was one of the worst coaching decisions I have ever seen. You want Newton to throw there. You don't want your corners turning their backs to him, which is exactly what happened.
Cam Newton gets leveled in a close game Sunday Night.
Credit: Highlight Heaven#NFL #football #BigHit #Patriots #Cardinals #wreckem pic.twitter.com/PYo0CGUdX9
— FCI_Offical (@FciOfficial_) November 30, 2020
I mean, these are just a few examples. The Patriots made some good, timely plays. They had a sound approach to defending Murray, who was also limited without Larry Fitzgerald. New England found a way.
But Christmas came early to them. Nothing to apologize for about that. It's just good to see they're still good enough to accept such a gift. That hasn't always been the case this season.
OFFENSE
Quarterback (0 out of 5)
I think we've beaten this to death enough. If Belichick didn't owe Newton a solid because of that contract, and if Jarrett Stidham didn't turtle in training camp with an "injury," or if he showed anything in practice, we'd be talking about a quarterback competition. But we're not. They'll ride Newton until it's over, and then they might have to continue playing him or else Belichick would be screwing him again with his playing time incentives. Like I said, they should have guaranteed those incentives a long time ago to avoid this mess. They can't give Stidham a start without costing Newton money, unless they still pay the bonus (they might).
Running backs (3 out of 5)
Man, I love me some Damien Harris. Just more really tough running, and he added one really nice pass block. I will say, I dinged him for two poor running decisions, and I think that's the first time that's happened. ... FB Jakob Johnson is obviously fighting through something because it's taking him longer and longer to get off the ground, and he whiffed on four blocks in this game. ... It was good to see James White's sweet feet again. Seems like it had been a while. He did, however, cause the opening sack that should have been a 40-yard completion if he executed. Sigh.
Receivers (1 out of 5)
Damiere Byrd had one YAC play, and N'Keal Harry was terrible. That was about the sum of it. Happens when your quarterback can't function at his position. ... One good thing: Didn't notice Ryan Izzo. That's progress for him.
Offensive line (5 out of 5)
You know what's really terrible about Newton's performance? The offensive line — which is limited athletically with two guards playing tackle — played great overall facing monumental pressure: a season-high 60.1 blitz rate, including seven rushes that sent six or more players. The Patriots held up great, down a starter, and Newton still couldn't do anything with it. ... Order of effectiveness, and it's very close all the way through: David Andrews, Joe Thuney, Shaq Mason, Mike Onwenu, Jermaine Eluemunor, Justin Herron.
DEFENSE
Defensive line (5 out of 5)
I thought this was this unit's best game of the season. Now, I do have to point out that Arizona's offensive line is one of the worst in the league — good news, the Chargers are even worse! — but the Patriots handled their business and dominated up front. ... Lawrence Guy (five), Chase Winovich (six) and Adam Butler (six) all had huge games when it came to impactful plays. ... Akeem Spence was strong at the point of attack. ... Josh Uche was again effective (half-sack, knockdown) in his very limited role. Would be nice to see that expand at some point.
Linebackers (3.5 out of 5)
A good, solid game from the linebackers. Not many miscues, and while they racked up the tackles, not many were standout plays. They mostly just did their job, which is an improvement. Surprised the Cardinals didn't push the issue there more. Instead they went with more multiple tight ends. Figured they would play a space game and try to win with speed. Perhaps this was part of the Save Kyler plan.
Secondary (3 out of 5)
Patriots are playing a lot more zone than I ever remember, but that makes sense given all the athletic quarterbacks they've seen in this stretch (getting burned by Watson likely helped the Patriots immensely in this one). ... Stephon Gilmore was good in run support, but shaky against DeAndre Hopkins. Gilmore gets paid too much money to give that much cushion against a receiver who's not going to run away from you. ... Jason McCourty had the key goal-line tackle, but his penalty on third down and the end zone and 17-yard reception allowed were not good. Where have you gone Joejuan Williams? ... Kyle Dugger got my Tommy Point this week. Some good work against the run and in the open field, although he did fail to fill one gap for 14 yards.
THREE UP
DT Adam Butler: If he's going to play this good after a week off, maybe we need to think about doing it more. He absolutely dominated weaker competition and showed some good leadership out there with the younger players.
DE Chase Winovich: A whale of a game, including some nice bouncing to get Murray to pull the ball down before his tipped interception. But this garbage has to stop, it's embarrassing:
It's over. This will never be topped.
Chase Winovich, ladies and gents. pic.twitter.com/0i8VkB8sXD
— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) December 1, 2020
DT Lawrence Guy: Another player who looks refreshed after a week off, he couldn't be moved inside and his goal line double team was awesome.
THREE DOWN
QB Cam Newton: First QB to win a game with a rating as low as 23.6 since Mark Sanchez. The Sanchise! That's where we are.
WR N'Keal Harry: Dropped a ball. Had a 10-yard penalty, and missed a block on a run that went for minus-8 yards. Other than that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?
FB Jakob Johnson: Feel a little bad because he's obviously hurt, but he was not good in this game.