Bedard's Breakdown: Will Mac Jones' improvement vs. Cardinals lead to more opportunities?

In all honesty, there wasn't much to take out of the Patriots' win over the Cardinals besides some younger players showing they have some ability to contribute, at least against one of the weaker teams in the league that had all been eliminated. That's not nothing, but without more data, it's impossible to say whether it's a one-off or not. Promising, for sure

On defense, once Kyler Murray went out of the game, that allowed the defense a little bit more freedom not having to worry about Colt McCoy breaking off a long run. Even then, they struggled at times to stop Arizona and were aided by some 12 unforced critical errors by the opponent. The lowlight was DeAndre Hopkins just dropping a ball, that Raekwon McMillan scooped and scored to completely change the game. Both on HBO's Hard Knocks during the game, and with the press following the game, Hopkins admitted he blew it.

Offensively, for the second-straight game, the Patriots went ultra-conservative in the pass game with a screen- and quick-game-heavy attack (65 percent of passes). You could understand it against the Bills, against a good defense and wanting to keep the ball away from Josh Allen. It was a puzzling attack against the Cardinals, one of the worst defenses in the league (worst in points allowed, red zone) despite a decent amount of talent. Yes, the Cardinals blitz a lot — that doesn't mean they're good at it. And, yes, the Patriots' line isn't at full strength — but neither is any other and actual football is still played. Still, the Patriots waved the white flag, admitting they couldn't go toe-to-toe with the Cardinals' defense. The Patriots took the same approach an overmatched high school team would against a better, bigger school.

What did that choice say about the state of the Patriots' offense? Bill Belichick's no dummy. He wouldn't let Matt Patricia take a certain approach unless he agreed with it. The decision told the football world that the Patriots have no faith in their offensive line, despite having four of the five starters from the first day of mandatory mini-camp: LT Trent Brown, LG Cole Strange, C David Andrews and RG Mike Onwenu. Only RT Isaiah Wynn, himself benched for street free agent Marcus Cannon, and backup Yodny Cajuste were missing. 

Do I think it was all about the players? No, although the team was obviously scared to death of RT Conor McDermott, who struggled mightily against the Bills. I think they were also worried about Strange getting exposed to too many straight dropbacks against Arizona's blitz package, but also the fact that opponents have realized that the Patriots don't do many if any blocking adjustments at the line and are susceptible to fronts showing one pressure look, and then changing.

Still, it's shame the Patriots didn't show much confidence in their traditional passing game because Mac Jones, after progressively getting worse against the Bills due to their pass rush, was on top of his game against the Cardinals. Jones obviously took the long layoff between games and worked, either privately or with throwing coach Tom House, to tighten up his mechanics, because it worked. Jones, thanks to the Cardinals simple coverage concepts and much better protection (18 percent, second-lowest rate of his career) due to the quick game, was decisive, smooth in delivering the ball down the field.

On passes 10 yards or more, Jones was 6 of 9 for 127 yards. The only problem? Just the nine attempts. In our grading, this was Jones' best game of the season and tops since the final two games of 2021 (Miami, Buffalo playoff game). It's a shame he wasn't asked to do more. The Patriots basically went with an approach of, 'We're just winning this game, that's it.' Considering the two-game losing streak, we understand and the final result might justify it.

If the Patriots are going to show any real improvement in the final four games, they're going to have to start putting up more than the 20 they did vs. Arizona and really moving the ball (only 3 of 10 drives went for over 35 yards), and they're going to have to start trusting the players to execute. Jones showed that he's ready with several high-level plays in few opportunities against the Cardinals:

Here are the positional ratings against the Cardinals:

OFFENSE

Quarterback (4 out of 5)

Basically a perfect game for Jones but we can't give it the full five rating because there were just too few chances. We only docked Jones for the delay of game penalty — he needs to operate better there — and the high throw to Agholor on the sidelines. ... His expected completion percentage differential was a pedestrian -3.5 (15th in the league), but it doesn't account for the five drops receivers had. His adjusted completion percentage should have been 87.1. ... Great job reading the coverage and looking off the safety on the big pass in the right seam to Hunter Henry. Patriots should have that available against the Raiders. It's clear Jones has a very high comfort level with Kendrick Bourne and Henry. Patricia needs to play into that going forward.

Running backs (3.5 out of 5)

Nice job by the rookies pitching in, but their big runs were equal parts good blocking and bad defense by the Cardinals. On the biggest runs (44 and 14 yards), the backs had huge holes past the second level. They took advantage, but it was not a high degree of difficulty. Both showed something new (Kevin Harris running hard and finishing his TD, Pierre Strong showing top-end speed) so that's something to build on. Harris allowed a hurry and fumbled. Rhamondre Stevenson had a drop before exiting.

Receivers (2 out of 5)

Tyquan Thornton (three poor routes against coverage) and Nelson Agholor (three drops) really brought down this group. Thornton is going to have to be better going forward. He's really struggled adjusting his routes to the coverage and Jones has lost some faith in him down the field. He's quicker to pull the trigger underneath. ... Henry showed well again in this game. But his knockdown on the interception was not all his fault. McDermott should have helped him over Mike Onwenu on that play. 

Offensive line (3 out of 5)

This is almost an incomplete due to the lack of a downfield pass game, and the run blocking is still too much of a struggle (35 percent stuff rate). ... David Andrews was great again with a clean sheet, and while it's not true Cole Strange didn't allow a pressure (he needed to combo better on the Cardinals stunt with Trent Brown on the big sack), this was one of his better games this season (2.5 run stuffs are mildly alarming but some tough matchups). ... Patriots should have a better fourth tackle option than McDermott. Most teams do. Developmental tackle was a need going back to the draft and they never found one, leaving them in this spot.

DEFENSE

Defensive line (4 out of 5)

Some issues in the running game that likely would have been exploited more if Murray stayed in the game, but the pass rush provided by Josh Uche and Matthew Judon (10.5 of the team's 17) was impressive, even against a beat-up line. ... 53 percent of the Patriots' pressure and five the six sacks came after the Patriots grabbed the lead. Would like to see more of an impact earlier. Uche and Judon had just 3.5 QB pressures combined in the first half. ... Uche's pressure was more real in this game and he showed off more than just speed, but he'll need to sustain against better competition to prove himself. His 10 sacks in five games have come against almost all backups (Raimann, IND; Brandel, MIN; Quessenberry, BUF; Jones, AZ). Only Duane Brown of the Jets (half of a coverage sack) was a starter at the beginning of the season — to add to the run of backup QBs this defense has beaten this season (Jared Goff is the only starter). ... Deatrich Wise got washed out inside against some runs, including the TD (with Devin McCourty). ... Judon failed to set the edge on the Cardinals' 23-yard run. ... Daniel Ekuale is a really good sub rusher to help close out games. Too bad the Patriots don't have the offense to get many teams in that position.

Linebackers (2.5 out of 5)

Jahlani Tavai had a nice pass tackle and one plus pass breakup in zone coverage. His fourth-down deflection was a nice play but a gift from Colt McCoy, who threw way too flat to a wide-open receiver. ... Ja'Whaun Bentley and McMillan continue to be middling. This group was lucky Murray didn't play. 

Secondary (2 out of 5)

Even though he wasn't perfect, this was Marcus Jones' most impressive game in pass coverage. Finally looked like he belonged ... Too many missed tackles by Kyle Dugger and McCourty, and penalties by Jonathan Jones. ... Outside of his penalty, this was a good game for Myles Bryant, as he thwarted a red zone corner fade from Hollywood Brown, who is one of the most overrated players in the league. No wonder Baltimore traded him. ... The safeties are a complete non-factor on this team, at least in this game. They almost never standout anymore. 

FIVE UP

Josh Uche: Dominated after the Patriots took the lead as he continues to pile up stats against backup tackles.

Matthew Judon: Has been much more consistent this season. They need him to close huge.

Marcus Jones: Impressive three-way performance, especially on defense.

Mac Jones: Decisive and threw the ball really well.

Pierre Strong: Three big plays, thanks to his speed, helped finish off this game.

FIVE DOWN

Shaun Wade: Not fair due to his lack of snaps, but he looked like he came out of a freezer he was so stiff.

Conor McDermott: Hard to believe he's the best the Patriots can put out there, but it's not his fault.

Kyle Dugger: Very passive game in coverage and had two missed tackles.

Trent Brown: Not his best game pass and run blocking. Hopefully he feels better this week.

Tyquan Thornton: His deep route running has been inconsistent. Don't think Jones, in a Brady-esque way, trusts him much. Need to rep up a shot play in practice to get everyone confident again.