Sometimes there's really nothing magical about how things go down in football.
Sometimes, you just make too many mistakes and, for whatever reason, you're not good enough to overcome them when it came time to play that particular game.
That was the case for the Patriots' offense in Sunday's 17-16 season-opening loss to the Dolphins.
New England received outstanding play from two newcomers — QB Mac Jones and WR Nelson Agholor — and veterans David Andrews and running back Damien Harris (until his fateful fumble). That, really, should have been enough to beat the Dolphins if not for two things:
1. The Patriots' defense didn't do its part.
2. The rest of the Patriots' offense kept shooting themselves in the foot.
Yes, you can certainly gripe about both of those, especially, the defense. But when it comes to the rest of the offense and all the new pieces, was it realistic to think all the pieces would fit together precisely the first time out? Probably not, especially after losing RT Trent Brown after the first series. In the first game of the season, that was a monumental loss and proved tough to overcome with replacement Justin Herron basically a disaster to the point he had to be benched. And Herron's struggles had a trickle-down effect as RG Shaq Mason had one of his worst games, which probably wasn't helped by the inconsistency at RT, and the fact that the Dolphins kept attacking the right side of the Patriots' line after Brown went out.
But more than that, the Patriots just aren't yet ready to overcome a series of miscues that include:
- Jones' near-disaster fumble on his first dropback thanks to a missed block by Jonnu Smith, ended a promising first drive.
- Rhamondre Stevenson's fumble negated his own 9-yard run and ended the second drive.
- An Isaiah Wynn hold wiped out a 13-yard Harris run to the Miami 1-yard line, and resulted in a net loss of 23 yards.
- Two plays later, Jonnu Smith could have followed his blockers better and picked up the first down, but he failed to and had his own fumble.
- A Herron holding call wiped out a 33-yard gain (net 43 yards) to the Miami 32
- Jakobi Meyers had a drop on 3rd and 4 — not a great pass, but it should have been caught — and Bill Belichick passed on going for it with 10:42 left at the Miami 15.
- A Matthew Judon special teams penalty ruined the Patriots having the ball at their own 43, and instead were moved back to their 28.
- Patriots got that back on a 17-yard pass to Kendrick Bourne, but a mindless block in the back by Shaq Mason resulted in another net 32-yard loss.
- And, of course, Harris' fumble was the final sloppy miscue.
It's Game 1, so we're not ready to call this a return of the Grenade Offense for the Patriots that dominated all of last season.
Could you say the Patriots weren't well-prepared to win this game on offense due to all those miscues? Yes. Is it probably a little bit unfair to demand perfection in Week 1 with such a weird schedule to start this season? Yes. Would one or two fewer miscues probably lead to a victory? Yes.
Look, offensively the Patriots played well enough to win with a new cast of characters against a pretty good defense that knows them well. But they didn't win, and that stinks.
Was there enough here to say, "Ok, they're going to be a lot better and more consistent with more time together"? Absolutely.
The loss was not fun, but I can't rip the offense ... yet. If this continues much longer, that will be another story.
Here are the offensive positional ratings against the Dolphins:
OFFENSE
Note: The coaches' film is not yet available because NFL GamePass is a disaster right now, so we'll hold off on sweeping judgments and video until that is available.
Quarterback (4.5 out of 5)
Mac Jones was simply outstanding. Had him for only three minus plays — the fumble, a poor throw to James White, and one late decision to Jonnu Smith — but other than that, he was great, especially in the second half. ... From my press box view, Jones did leave some yards and plays on the field — a deep corner route to Smith was open and Jones had plenty of time but checked it down — but outside of that and without the all-22, I can't really complain about much he did. ... Had Jones for nine plus plays, including five throws against pressure. In the second half, Jones just kept making outstanding play after outstanding play, including the 2nd and 15 strike to Agholor that had serious heat and was an impossible throw against pressure, and the wheel to White on 3rd and 11. Jones' second-half tosses to Bourne (wiped out by penalty), Hunter Henry against pressure (third down), and a 3rd and 6 pass to Meyers against pressure were just terrific. Not really sure you could ask much more of a rookie QB.
Running backs (3.5 out of 5)
It's a damn shame Harris fumbled because he also had an outstanding game and looked like a workhorse, even if he can't sustain this pace. He's ready to bust out this season, but it remains to be seen whether the depth is good enough to keep him fresh. ... Stevenson had the fumble, but I'm not ready to kill him for a blown blocking assignment because it could have been Jakob Johnson's man to block, and Stevenson wasn't ready for it. ... Good to see James White look like his old self.
Receivers (2 out of 5)
Take out Agholor, who we do think had a least one poor route, there wasn't much here. Meyers was solid, but he should have kept going instead of sitting in the zone when he nearly tipped a pass into an interception. He also had a poor run block, and he should have caught that crucial 3rd-and-4 pass. Even if he had to dive, that catch could have allowed the Patriots to go for it on 4th down. ... Didn't think Jonnu Smith was very good in this game. He didn't hit the hole on an inside handoff, he should have picked up the first down if he followed his blockers on the screen where he fumbled, he should have picked up the rusher on Jones' first dropback, and he had some run blocking issues. ... Hunter Henry was largely invisible and it takes him a while to get down the field.
Offensive line (2 out of 5)
Good run blocking, shoddy pass protection as a 34 percent pressure rate was too high for this group. Yes, Herron had a lot to do with that, but Shaq Mason was really challenged in this game with eight minus plays, which is like 3 or 4 games worth for him normally. ... Herron was just a disaster, and Yasir Durant was very good as a replacement. Could see Herron just be inactive for Yodny Cajuste and Durant come Sunday. ... Everyone had some issues on this line with a physical Dolphins front, except David Andrews, who had a clean sheet. That's how you protect a rookie QB in his first start. ... Order of effectiveness: Andrews, Wynn, Onwenu, Durant, Brown, Mason, Herron.
THREE UP
QB Mac Jones: And this was just his first game. Imagine what he'll be able to do when he knows what he's doing and has a few more checks available at the line.
C David Andrews: Completely controlled the middle of the line.
WR Nelson Agholor: Three tough catches and a TD is a very good debut.
THREE DOWN
RT Justin Herron: He could very well be inactive for a while after this performance. Two penalties?
RG Shaq Mason: Going to chalk this up to the changes at RT, because this was totally unlike him.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson: A blown block and fumble in five snaps. Well, they need him badly so he'll need to rebound quick.