Well, that was fun viewing. Below, members will find a breakdown of Mac Jones' plays in the first half via video analysis of the coaches' film.
It would be so easy if Mac Jones was the sole reason why the Patriots' offense was stuck in the mud, and holding the team back.
It would allow those, despite many years of evidence to the contrary, to continue believing Bill Belichick is still all-knowing and the Patriots are just a new quarterback away from being the envy of the NFL again and contending for championships.
That would make Sunday's 38-3 loss to the Cowboys — the worst-ever defeat for Belichick — easy to explain. It was Jones' fault. It's not Belichick. He still has it. The Patriots are still good.
That's just not the case.
Now, things are never as bad as your worst loss - it just feels that way. I've seen the Patriots and even Tom Brady inept in losses before. It happens to everyone. This felt similar to, among others:
Bills 31, Patriots 0 in 2003
Chiefs 41, Patriots 14 in 2014
Dolphins 38, Patriots 13 in 2008
Titans 34, Patriots 10 in 2018
Browns 34, Patriots 14 in 2010
Ravens 33, Patriots 14 in 2009 playoffs
Lions 26, Patriots 10 in 2018
And for the record, Brady had 49 games in his career with at least two interceptions, including six with four picks.
And you should also consider that the Patriots just concluded a four-game stretch against three really tough defenses (Eagles, Jets, Cowboys) and one who had a great day against you thanks to your offensive line (Dolphins). The Cowboys currently have the best overall and pass defense by DVOA.
If you're not on top of your game, that Dallas defense – especially coming off a loss where they were inept against the Cardinals — playing at home can make you look bad. And that's what happened.
Do I think the Patriots' offense is that bad? No. Do I think Jones is that bad? No.
Will they get better? I don't know.
Jones certainly played a central role in the loss. It was the worst-graded game of his career by far. He was fine, not great, right up until the strip-sack and then things went decidedly downhill. He's regressed into Backfoot Jones way too much. He hurried himself on at least three plays, including the pick-six. Quarterbacks obviously can't throw clear across the field against NFL defenses, especially the best in the league. That was just dumb. He lost his head in this game, started seeing ghosts. But this happens, even to the very best named Brady.
This game was eerily reminiscent of the Chiefs loss in 2014. Brady was 14 of 23 for 159 yards, sacked twice, 2 INTs, 59.9 rating. Brady threw a 44-yard TD down 27-0. Brady threw a pick-six to trail 41-17 and Jimmy Garoppolo took over with 10:28 left in the fourth.
Brady was the Patriots' lowest-rated offensive player by ProFootballFocus with a 34.4 rating. Jones was the same this week, with a 24.4.
But this is not about just the quarterback.
First and foremost, the Patriots' offensive line was completely dominated by the Cowboys. They allowed a pressure rate of 52.9 percent — by far the most of Jones' career. You're not winning an NFL game with a pocket passer with a pressure rate like that. Period. The run blocking might have been worse, with a 54.7 run stuff percentage.
I'm not sure I've ever seen a Patriots line get dominated like that.
The right side of the line was completely annihilated in every sense of the word. Mike Onwenu had perhaps the worst game of his career (according to PFF, it was). Vederian Lowe had 14 minus plays, including 6.5 pressures and four stuffed runs by himself. It was exacerbated by Micah Parsons lining up on the left side of the defense (right side for the line) on 36 of his 44 snaps. As one NFL exec told me, "(The Cowboys) do your homework for you ... they line up Parsons over what they think is the weak link."
That leads to the third issue: coaching. The Patriots didn't anticipate what Dan Quinn would do with Parsons? Either they didn't have a good plan (which I don't believe), or they didn't get the players ready to execute that plan.
Everyone knows the Cowboys are fast on defense and can be over-aggressive. It took until they trailed 28-3 to run their first real screen of the game? What happened to the quick game? RPOs? Why didn't Demario Douglas get more touches in space?
The Patriots looked like they entered this game highly confident that they could go toe to toe with the Cowboys and could play them straight up (fully transparency: so did I). They would run the ball well using all three tight ends, and then use some playaction to make some plays down the field. Bill O'Brien and his staff were decidedly wrong on all fronts. Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing put on a master class of how to outflank the Cowboys, and their players executed at a high level. Both put the Patriots to shame. They couldn't do anything right, the coaches or players.
And then there are those players. For all Jones' issues in this game, I only faulted him for two bad decisions on scrambles. Not once did I see a Patriots receiver open for Jones when he didn't hit them. The Cowboys played man or squatted on the Patriots in coverage — often taking the middle of the field away to keep Jones' throws outside the numbers — and the receivers and tight ends were not open. Like Hunter Henry said after the game, the Patriots got exposed.
You combine a historically bad offensive line performance, a skittish QB and no weapons, you get the disaster you got on Sunday. Doesn't mean it's always going to be like that, but it certainly was for one game.
Now it's up to them, especially Jones, to rebound quickly.
Here are the positional ratings against the Steelers:
OFFENSE
Quarterback (0 out of 5)
Jones was managing the game as best he could right up until the strip sack. After that, he was sped up, watching the rush and possibly forgetting which play he was running. Yes, it was bad. But I've seen the best endure this type of performance, especially when pressure comes early and often. I don't really care about the debate about Jones going forward — there is plenty of time for that later. What I can tell you is he's not going anywhere and the Patriots don't have better options (no, Bailey Zappe wasn't much better behind this line and against a defense that had called off the dogs). No one is coming in to save the season. The focus has to doing what is needed to put Jones in position to succeed. That starts, first and foremost, with better protection. The Patriots' line has been a trainwreck so far. ... I did not think Jones quit on his final incompletion. I think he threw a poor pass on purpose because he knew he was late to his read (again) and just didn't want to turn the ball over again.
Running backs (2.5 out of 5)
No real opportunities in this game. So much for Ezekiel Elliott's return to Dallas. Both were victimized, like Jones, by the Patriots inability to block the Cowboys even a little bit.
Receivers (1 out of 5)
Three drops out of this group. Yes, I put Mike Gesicki for a drop in the end zone. That throw was good enough for the type of player he is supposed to be - it's why he's here. Juju Smith-Schuster and Hunter Henry also had drops. ... Patriots asked Gesicki and Henry to block way too much in this game. They were terrible. ... Patriots have to start playing Douglas more. ... On both of Jones' cross-field throws, the receivers did not cover themselves in glory working back to the QB. Something is messed up with this group. The blocking and route running/pick plays are really subpar. Everything matters when you are struggling.
Offensive line (0 out of 5)
Atonio Mafi wasn't great, but he was better than Cole Strange at this point. He should continued to play. Some overaggressive sets to the outside, but nothing egregious. ... Trent Brown had a couple horrendous reps, but was largely good as Parsons was on the other side. ... David Andrews was again really good. A couple of tough reps against Parsons, but that happens to just about every center. ... Mike Onwenu is off to a horrible start in a contract year. He was absolutely horrible in this game. Penalties, slow to get out of his stance. ... Vederian Lowe's performance was likely the worst I have ever seen for a Patriot, up there with Jordan Devey and Cam Fleming. If the Patriots don't have better in Riley Reiff (due to come off IR but was bad at RT in camp), Tyrone Wheatley or Sidy Sow, they're in big trouble. Teams are going to go after Lowe after this film. ... Adrian Klemm needs to start earning his paycheck ASAP.
ONE UP
Demario Douglas: He only makes a play every time he touches the ball. Don't want to play those guys.
THREE DOWN
Mac Jones: Got so sped up after the strip-sack, I though his head was going to spin around, Exorcist-style.
Vederian Lowe: Some of the worst technique I've ever seen. No, you're not supposed to have your helmet and weight over your toes.
Mike Onwenu: Where have you gone, Big Mike? Your QB turns his lonely eyes to you. If Onwenu was playing to his normal level, they might have a chance. He's half the player right now.