The Patriots should be playing next weekend, the divisional round, of the AFC playoffs. That should be your thought after watching the conference’s postseason offerings on Saturday and Sunday.
Not this year’s team. That team was 1-6 against playoff teams — the only win over third-string Skylar Thompson. I mean, the Patriots were the last team the 3-14 Bears beat and they got speedboated by them — at home — and made Justin Fields look like a future Hall of Famer.
The team the 2022 Patriots should have been, the fantasyland, bizzaro Patriots, if Bill Belichick made different choices with his offensive coaching staff, would be threatening a deep playoff run.
That’s the major takeaway after this weekend, and as you get set to watch Tom Brady line up another postseason win since Belichick pushed him out of New England, if you’re being honest about the state of affairs at One Patriot Place.
If you want to cling to the outdated notion that Belichick is never wrong at 70 years old — even the Krafts don’t believe that anymore with their hand-slapping press release last week — then you’re still finding a way to make this about Mac Jones.
Tell me you know nothing about football without telling me you know nothing about football — just bring up Mac Jones this weekend.
If the Patriots had competent coaching on the offensive side of the ball, Mac Jones and the offense would have built on their top-10, 10-7 2021 season. Belichick could have spent more time in defensive and special teams meetings — which he did when Josh McDaniels was here — instead of almost all of his time in offensive meetings.
The offense would be better with real offensive coaches that could give the players, especially the quarterback, answers to the opposing defenses, instead of just calling plays. The team would be better coached in all phases. And they would have won more of the close games that slipped away because they were just not a well-coached team.
Brock Purdy (Mr. Irrelevant), Trevor Lawrence (viewed as a bust last season) and Daniel Jones (one of the worst QBs in the league last year) all won playoff games this weekend. Skylar Thompson would have — at Buffalo — if he had New England’s defense.
How did all that happen? They all have real offensive coaches who know how to make the QB better, and most of them are surrounded by real talent.
Daniel Jones was a laughing stock with a 4-13 Giants team coached by Joe Judge. Now he’s 10-7-1 and a playoff winner under Brian Daboll and OC Mike Kafka — with basically the same team back.
Mac Jones was 10-7 with McDaniels and starting a playoff game. Judge becomes his position coach — to say nothing of Matt Patricia, who ruined Matthew Stafford, a future Super Bowl champion — and Jones is 8-9 and takes the heat for this season from the Beli-fans.
I mean, what are we doing here?
If Belichick just did the right thing — either promoting Nick Caley and empowering him, or bringing in an experienced offensive mind who could coach the QB — the Patriots could be dreaming about a run to at least the AFC Championship. All the teams left have flaws — the Bengals are doomed now with unsustainable offensive line injuries — are a beatable by a well-coached, put-together team.
The Patriots used to be that team. This year would have been right up their alley, similar to improbable runs in 2011 and 2018.
But this year’s Patriots were not — and that is 100 percent Belichick’s fault.
Further thoughts on the weekend:
49ers 41, Seahawks 23
- San Francisco is the poster child — and they were with Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo — for the team that decides talent and coaching are the most important factors, and you make it work for whoever the QB is. 49ers have a truly great defense, a great offensive line, dynamic weapons in the pass and ground game, and a tremendous gameplanner and playcaller (Kyle Shanahan).
- Geno James nearly pulled this off with a halftime lead, with a team that is just getting going. How about the Seahawks doing all this with rookie offensive tackles. 49ers are just more talented. That wins out in the end.
Jaguars 31, Chargers 30
- How the hell does Brandon Staley allow OC Joe Lombardi to run the ball just seven times in the second half, and not use all of the playclock?!
- Trying to imagine what the Patriots would have done on offense down 27-0 with 1:49 left before halftime. That touchdown drive changed the game.
- Lawrence coming back from a 4 INT first half is not about him, although he is unflappable in a Joe Flacco kind of way, which can be good and bad. This was all about the Chargers and their choices, and Joey Bosa's idiotic personal foul penalty. Again, a poorly coached team.
Bills 34, Dolphins 31
- Mike McDaniel made some critical errors, mostly with the playclock (how do you sub personnel on 4th and 1?!) but I view rookie coaches like rookie QBs — no one is going to be great their first season. Belichick was 6-10 and 5-11 in his first seasons in Cleveland and New England. At least McDaniel had a playoff game to make errors in.
- This Bills team is not that good, which makes New England's failings this season feel all the worse. Dolphins made Josh Allen look much more human than the Patriots have the past two years.
- Even the Bills largely shutdown Stefon Diggs after Josh Boyer's idiotic all-out blitz call on 3rd and 15.
- Skylar Thompson put up 24 points on the Bills. The Patriots put up 23.
Giants 31, Vikings 24
- Daboll did what the Patriots could not — limit Justin Jefferson and leave Minnesota with a victory.
- That is an effing well-coached team, man.
- Minnesota can not bring back DC Ed Donatell. He killed this team.
- Of course Kirk Cousins threw a 3-yard pass on 4th and 7 and the game on the line.
Bengals 24, Ravens 17
- I picked Cincinnati to win the Super Bowl before this postseason, but there's no way they can do that if LT Jonah Williams is out. The line has three bad players now (LT, LG, RG, RT), and only solid with C Ted Karras.
- Cris Collinsworth was exactly right — you can't plan for the push from behind on the goal line QB sneak and then have the QB leap.
- What a play by LB Germaine Pratt holding up Tyler Huntley. Not sure why that wasn't pointed out. He made the play.