Breaking down the biggest plays in the Patriots' 33-26 loss to the Vikings — and some that set up those plays — using analysis of the coaches' film. The plays/discussion points:
- Vikings run a great play but Patriots have three failures on opening touchdown;
- After big Mac Jones throw to DeVante Parker, Patriots completely fail on first two plays before Hunter Henry's disallowed catch;
- Rookie Jack Jones may have been targeted on (and misplayed) game-winning touchdown to Adam Thielen.
1Q 3-2-NE 6 (10:44) (No Huddle, Shotgun) K.Cousins pass short right to J.Jefferson for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
You hear me talk about great play design involving levels and different strategies in the same area of the field. Well, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell did a great job on this play.
The play is specifically designed to get the ball to Justin Jefferson, anticipating that teams are going to devote a lot of attention to him. To get a player like that the ball, you have to move him and design some help. He did that here.
The first thing O'Connell did was have TE Johnny Mundt run a short crosser from the right side of the formation to the left to distract if not move Ja'Whaun Bentley out of the middle of the field. The Patriots' linebacker obliged and was way too aggressive in his coverage even as Kyle Dugger was in position to take Mundt.
On the right side of the formation opposite Jefferson, Thielen ran a skinny post with the sole intention of getting in the way of Devin McCourty, as the Vikings anticipated just one single high safety (they got it). Thielen eyes McCourty off the line and subtlety gets in his way at the last second.
All of that cleared the way for Jefferson on the crossing pattern. The only thing that could have thwarted this play was Jahlani Tavai being in the throwing lane, or the pass rush to get there. Neither happened because both Matthew Judon and Tavai went into the flat with Dalvin Cook leaving a) the Patriots with only three rushers from the 6-yard line (8 in coverage), b) and no one in Kirk Cousins' passing lane.
In my opinion, Judon improvised this coverage. Either way, this TD was more of a collection of Patriots miscues (plenty of those in this game) than an unstoppable play.
3Q 2-7-MIN 47 (8:21) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass deep left to D.Parker to MIN 7 for 40 yards (D.Shelley).
1-7-MIN 7 (7:33) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass incomplete short left.
2-7-MIN 7 (7:29) (Shotgun) R.Stevenson right end to MIN 6 for 1 yard (C.Bynum, H.Smith).
(6:50) (Shotgun) M.Jones pass short left to H.Henry for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
The Replay Official reviewed the pass completion ruling, and the play was REVERSED.
(Shotgun) M.Jones pass incomplete short left to H.Henry (C.Sullivan).
Included the Parker play because it was so good between the protection (rare on a play like this for this team), Jones looked off the safety and throwing a perfect pass, and Parker making a great catch.
Then if was a cluster@$%& after that.
On the very next play, the Patriots get the play and to the line and no one knows what play they are running. Hunter Henry has his hands up. Kendrick Bourne doesn't have a clue. Two receivers basically run into each other to the left and Jones wisely chucks it into the 5th row.
This simply can't happen in game like this in the red zone ... or ever. But Matt Patricia says, "Hold my beer."
On the next play, not only does Patricia call a run out of shotgun (oy), he does so with the receivers condensed, leaving even more defenders near the line of scrimmage. On the play, basically everybody fails. Cole Strange pulls and moves no one. Hunter Henry gets driven back 3 yards, and Nelson Agholor misses his block.
Two epic fails.
On third down, Henry likely caught the ball — I'm not dealing with it, you guys talk amongst yourselves — but you can quibble with Jones putting the ball behind Henry. I'm guessing that the Vikings are a big trap coverage team with nosy cornerbacks and Jones was likely afraid that the corner covering Bourne was waiting to jump an outside-breaking route — that's why Jones put it on Henry. You do see a lot of that near the goal line. In any event, between the throw and the catch, this needs to be a touchdown.
4Q 1-10-NE 15 (9:40) K.Cousins pass short left to A.Thielen for 15 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
The Vikings said after the game they had been trying to run this play throughout the game but never got the right look when it was called. Was the right look just man coverage, or was it more about rookie Jack Jones being one of the outside corners?
In any event, I think the Patriots thought they were prepared for this play but they failed to execute (similar to Kyle Dugger botching the bootleg TD to TJ Hockenson).
Guessing from Jalen Mills' lax pursuit once Adam Thielen went inside, and his adamant reaction after the play that someone screwed up, I'm going to guess that if Jefferson and Thielen ran in-breaking routes, both Mills and Jones were going to stay put and pick up the other receiver coming across. When Mills saw Jones locked in and pursuing Jefferson, he had no choice but to continue a fruitless pursuit of Thielen.
I would not be surprised if the Vikings wanted to run this play with the hope that the hyper-aggressive Jones would take the bait, and he did.