Just find a way into the 20s.
In an NFL weekend where the Chargers and Cleveland raced deep into the 40s, Old Man Brady threw for 400-plus and 5 TDs, and Buffalo and Kansas displayed their weapons for a national TV audience, the Patriots again asked as little as they could of rookie Mac Jones.
Facing a Houston Texans team led by a less-heralded rookie with an offensive unit that totaled 109 yards of offense a week ago in Buffalo, Jones delivered and salvaged the day – maybe the season – with a 25-22 grind of a victory.
“I mean, Mac gave it to us all day,” said Bill Belichick, of Jones, who hit on 23 of his 30 pass attempts for 231 yards – a solid 7.7 yards per attempt.
Belichick was not the only one raving about the rook. Center David Andrews called him a, “Tough son of a gun.”
But aesthetically – and production-wise – this Patriots offense is producing at 2020, read Cam Newton-led, levels.
The Patriots were 2-3 through five weeks last year, averaging 21.8 points a game. They are now 2-3, averaging 19.2.
And this comes after jettisoning Cam in favor of the former Alabama star, investing tens of millions to bring in receivers Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor plus tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith.
The rookie had himself a little swagger after the amazing rally from down 22-9 early in the third quarter.
“It felt really good. I think the offensive line did a great job and I think it all starts with them. They were doubted all week and there was this and that, and all the noise around that and they came out and they played really hard and they played together,” said Jones. “I think I only got hit one time the whole game. So just shoutout to those guys and they are a big reason why it happened, and it was just – we just out-competed. I don't know if we out-played the other team but we definitely out-competed and that's all we can ask ourselves to do.”
“Out-competing” a Texans team destined for the deep cellar in the shaky AFC South might be all this Patriots team can do in 2021.
Is that reality or a potential nightmare for Belichick and his lofty expectations?
For the second-straight week there were leaks in the running game. Houston’s soft front was much more receptive than Tampa’s tigers on defense a week ago. Even with a patchwork offensive line missing four regulars, New England managed 126 yards on 30 carries.
But the bread-and-butter guys, the potential bell cows for this season and seasons to come, Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson, combined for 81 yards on 25 tries, a pedestrian 3.2 yards per rush.
Add in multiple trips to the injury tent and a goal-line fumble by Harris, and there is certain reason for trepidation.
Winning blunted the impact of that.
“I felt like (the Patriots offense had) really good balance today,” said Henry, who had his best day of the year with six catches on eight targets for 75 yards and a TD. “Mac stood back there and stood in the pocket really strong. So I was proud of him and proud of the offensive linemen that had to step up in big roles.”
So far, the Patriots offense has only gotten by with a little help from their friends.
Against the Jets, it was Zach Wilson, throwing four balls to the boys in all blue. Sunday, take your pick.
The Texans did their best to put Mac and the offense in perfect starting position with choices like a gimmick punt play that saw old friend Terrence Brooks take one off the back of the helmet and then an ill-advised 56-yard field goal try that just wasn’t close.
Each time, the Patriots found a short cut to putting points on the board.
And if that wasn’t enough, Texan Maliek Collins drew a drive-extending 15-yarder for breathing heavily on Jones – thank you, referee Scott Novak – to allow New England to push down the field for the game-winning Nick Folk field goal.
Field position has been huge all through the first five games and was certainly on Sunday.
New England opened the game with the ball on its own 40 thanks to a kick out of bounds and hung up a TD.
Possessions from their own 39 and 46, plus the self-blocked punt setting up the football at the Houston 36 all resulted in points.
Yes, the game-clinching march was from their own 15, but the Patriots got so much help along the way from a Texans team that has done little but stumble all over itself in 2021.
Can Jones and the Patriots continue to be “good enough?”
The line will have to get a bit healthier, and it should with two of the four missing players on the Covid protocol list. But Trent Brown’s move to injured reserve over the weekend is a blow. The unit has been uninspiring without him since Week 1.
And it is certainly noteworthy that the two best showings by the offense have come against a pair of one-win clubs.
Belichick, for one, wasn’t about to look this gift-horse of a victory in the mouth, especially with the offense as depleted up front as it was.
“I'm not saying it was perfect, but I thought they battled. For the most part, Mac had some time to throw, and we made some yards in the running game to stay balanced. They would run the ball in on the goal line so that was a good thing there, too,” Belichick said.
Damien Harris avoids serious injury: An update from NFL.com:
#Patriots RB Damien Harris checked out OK after yesterday’s game, source said. He was limited with rib and chest injuries, but tests ruled out anything significant and he’s best described as day-to-day.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 11, 2021