The New England Patriots officially joined the AFC’s middle class on Sunday in Los Angeles with an efficient victory over the now-listing Chargers.
Bill Belichick’s unique ability to render the opposing quarterback to a mere shadow of himself paid off. The Patriots are back in the race, at least for one of the three conference wild-card playoff spots.
Now, the question looms boldly. Can Mac Jones and this offense take them there?
Sunday against the Chargers, the offense delivered when it had to, and in its diversity, there was strength. The Patriots clicked on 5 of 9 third downs in the second half, through the air and on the ground.
Damien Harris (23 carries, 80 yards, 1 TD) didn’t hang 100 up for the third straight week, but as a unit, he, Brandon Bolden and Rhamondre Stevenson combined for 131 yards on 35 tries -- a steady 3.7 yards per on a day that their longest run was 14. It wasn’t a 30-yarder and a bunch of 1s and 2s.
Efficient.
On a tough day for Jones, the passing game got better, not worse, with the rookie clicking on 10 of 13 for 92 yards in the second half after an 8 for 22 start.
“The second and third quarter were not good enough,” said Jones. “We finished strong. That's the moral of the story, just finish strong. It feels a lot better to be on the winning side, when not playing as well, than it does to be on the losing side. That's what you have to take from it.”
He spread the football to eight different targets, including key hookups on the game-clinching fourth-quarter field goal drive to Jakobi Meyers, Nelson Agholor, and yes, the enigmatic N’Keal Harry – a 15-yard chain-mover on second-and-9.
“To execute when it mattered, and be able to come out with a win is incredible,” said Harris. “We just keep building confidence. We know what the formula is. We know what we have to do in order to play well. We think when we play well, we can play with anybody and we have the opportunity to beat anybody.”
The Patriots, now in a stack of eight AFC teams with either three or four wins, are not expected to make any kind of major move on the offensive side of the ball with the trade deadline looming Tuesday.
For better or worse, they will make the turn for home with the horses provided, most likely. After Sunday’s win. Jones seemed pretty appreciative of the group around him.
“The offensive line did a great job of keeping me clean. The receivers were getting open, and the backs were running hard and protecting — same thing with the tight ends, they were getting open,” the rookie said.
If the kid trusts them, should we?
Take into account that this team has faced four legitimate NFL opponents (Saints, Bucs, Cowboys, Chargers with a combined 21-9 record) and three bottom-dwellers (Miami, NYJ and Houston, combined 4-17).
Against those four potential playoff teams, New England has run for 77.3 yards a game, thrown for 242.8 and averaged 5.1 yards per play. In addition, New England is 21 for 56 on third down, a conversion percentage of 37.5 percent.
Those numbers are hardly prolific, but if turnovers can be avoided – to date the Pats have fumbled nine times, losing six – efficient offense, combined a defense that has slowed down Tom Brady and Justin Herbert this year already could get the job done.
Harris remains the lynchpin. Keeping him healthy – note the sharing of carries again on Sunday with both the rookie Stevenson and the old man Bolden helping lessen the load – is absolutely essential.
Henry’s return to the West Coast didn’t go exactly as he might have planned with only one catch for 33 yards, but heading in he and Jones had clearly found some red-zone magic (four TDs in four games). The last five Super Bowl champs have featured a monster tight end (Gronk, Kelce, Ertz), so Henry’s presence certainly matters week to week.
If those two cogs are in place, serviceable receiver play from Meyers, Agholor, gulp, Harry and Kendrick Bourne might just be enough.
The schedule down the road is not easy with crucial games looming with fellow wild card wannabes Cleveland and Indianapolis plus two left against 5-2 Buffalo and 6-2 Tennessee coming to town right after Thanksgiving.
“We know we’re a good team, and we know we can play with anybody,” said Harris. “We’ve been playing better football week after week after week.”