For the first two weeks of the season, the Patriots did one thing well on offense: running the football. It helped win them the opener in Cincinnati and put them in the lead late in their eventual overtime loss to Seattle. Thus, it made all the sense in the world to try to pound the rock at MetLife Stadium Thursday night. The Jets' defense has been a sieve against the run dating back to the start of last year.
But the Pats telegraphed their intentions throughout the short week, repeatedly talking about the need to push the ball down the field, create more explosives, and get some of their pass catchers — namely Pop Douglas — more involved. If you happen to wager, taking the over on targets, catches, and yards for the second-year wideout was a no-brainer, and lo and behold, all those cashed (wheeeeeeee); however, the offense crashed, almost from jump. They finished with 139 yards. 139. Barf.
Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt called passes on seven of the first nine plays. Jacoby Brissett completed four of those six throws for a whopping 16 yards, a sack on 3rd and 7, and one first down. He also got demolished on the very first call, a play-action off the wide zone stuff that they haven't been able to get working on since they installed it back in May. The Pats can't afford a negative game script, yet the playcalling helped create that very thing.
"Just thought it was a situation where we had run the ball well the last two weeks and tried to take advantage of some of those run plays with the run actions and the play action, the bootleg off of that," said Van Pelt Friday morning. "You know, (it) didn't go the way we wanted to. And then by the time you get back out there, you know you're down a couple scores, and then you have to kind of abandon the run, unfortunately, at that point. But definitely, in hindsight, looking back, (I) probably should have flipped that and run it more early to set it up later."
The Pats aren't going to be an explosive team. That's not how their receiving core is built unless Tyquan Thornton and/or Javon Baker take a giant step forward. I'm not holding my breath on the former, and the latter is an unknown. Douglas is a nice piece, but force-feeding him the ball is a questionable tactic. He's 5-foot-nothing and hundred and nothing (5'8", 182). Like, what are we doing here?
Look, if it wasn't obvious before, the Pats are offensively challenged. It has felt like Van Pelt is following the same shadowy path Bill O'Brien had to walk down the year before. His play sheet isn't expanding; it's only shrinking because of an offensive line struggling not only from a physical standpoint but with their communication, leading to a number of missed assignments and far too many rushers cruising unabated to the quarterback.
"It wasn't a great night," said Van Pelt of the offensive line play. "It's a good front, obviously. And you know, with some guys in for the first time, it wasn't what we wanted. But I don't think it's a hindrance. ... it does change the course of the game as things are going in the plays that you feel like you're comfortable to call in those situations, and you just have to adjust and adapt like that. But I don't think it's an issue that'll linger."
It feels like wishful thinking at this point. The Pats offense played a pair of rookies up front against the Jets — left tackle Caedan Wallace and right guard Layden Robinson — and neither proved to be much of an impediment to the New York pass rush. Some of you want to add another rookie, quarterback Drake Maye, into the mix. How do you think that would play in San Francisco two weekends from now?
Jerod Mayo poured cold water on the notion of making a switch at quarterback Friday morning (less than 12 hours after fumbling away a question about a change following the game), saying, "Jacoby is our quarterback until I say he's not the quarterback." But that move will eventually happen, and when it does, it will be incumbent upon Van Pelt to call a game that protects the possible future face of the franchise, not one that satiates the grumblings of receivers who haven't proven much in this league.
"WE SUCK RIGHT NOW"
It is hard to argue with Trevor Lawrence's assessment of the Jacksonville Jaguars. They're 0-2 after a listless 18-13 home loss to the equally inept Cleveland Browns. Lawrence was 5-of-16 in the opening half for 11 (!!!) yards and finished 14-of-30 for 220 yards and no touchdowns. He also got sacked four times.
"We know we've got a good group, we've got good players, and we can be a really good offense, but clearly we're not," said Lawrence post-game. "Everybody has to take accountability, look in the mirror and fix it. I've got to play better. I'm the leader of this offense. It's on me."
Lawrence had a miserable rookie season under the inept Urban Meyer but showed everyone why he was the number one overall pick the following year under the more competent Doug Pederson. Last season, the Jags were 8-3 and in first place in the AFC South before the quarterback had a shoulder injury and a high ankle sprain that derailed their season. Jacksonville has lost seven of its last eight regular-season games, and the clock is officially ticking on Pederson, especially after the organization committed $275 million to Lawrence and owner Shad Khan declared this the most talented team in franchise history.
"Well, I hadn't thought about it until you said it, so, you know what? I don't let it affect me," said Pederson when asked about the losses piling up. "I just know it's a business that is one week — it's a week-to-week business, and we've talked about this a lot. The thing for me, too, is yes, we've got to correct the negatives and the things that are going wrong, but I've also got to look at the positive in what's being put out there."
The Jags are off to 2-0 Buffalo on Monday, then visit the Texans on the 29th. 0-4 is definitely on the table.
UNEXPECTED
Since the start of the 2021 season, only 3 of 21 teams that started the year off 0-2 have made the playoffs. The Ravens, who some geniuses (cough cough) predicted would win the Super Bowl this year, are winless after dropping their home opener to the freakin' Las Vegas Raiders Sunday. If you want to point fingers, there are plenty of guilty parties.
"This past game, we have a 10-point lead," said head coach John Harbaugh. "It's on all of us as a team to maintain that lead. Our punt team needs to be better, that's for darn sure (Jordan Stout shanked a punt late in the game). Our offense needs to be better, and our defense needs to be responsible to get stops.
"If you make plays to get the stops, you leave with a win. When we learn to do that consistently, then we're going to win all those kinds of games. Giving up a fourth-quarter lead is never OK. It's not acceptable. It should never happen. You do it because you don't play consistent football."
The only player that Harbaugh doesn't seem to have a problem with is the reigning MVP, Lamar Jackson. He led the Ravens within a whisker of beating the Chiefs in Kansas City in the opener - albeit missing an open Isaiah Likely in the back left corner of the end zone on that final drive - and accounted for nearly 300 yards in Sunday's defeat.
"The most consistent player we have, consistently executing and consistently playing, is Lamar on offense," said Harbaugh. "Lamar is playing very well. He's making good decisions, he's taking charge of the offense, he's making throws, he's moving around when he has to, he's running the ball."
Jackson's just not getting a ton of help. Derrick Henry has a couple of touchdowns, but his power running style hasn't proven to be a good fit for a Ravens offense that looks more explosive when he's on the sideline. Tight end Mark Andrews, one of the best in the game, hasn't looked like himself to start 2024, and when you're dialing up plays for Nelson Agholor, well, you know you might be short at wide receiver as well.
Then there's the matter of the offensive line. The Ravens have three new starters, and it's gone so poorly that they're rotating at right tackle (look for rookie Roger Rosengarten to take over soon), and there have already been cries to replace the right guard, Daniel Faalele.
"We've got to find our mojo," said Jackson. "We've got to find (it) and do what we do because that's not us at all."
The Ravens are in Dallas to play the 1-1 Cowboys on Sunday.
MONEY TIME?
Kyler Murray had a perfect passer rating in Sunday's 41-10 rout of the LA Rams. I prefer QBR, but it is noteworthy that Murray is only the second Cardinals quarterback to achieve perfection, joining Hall of Famer Kurt Warner.
Murray has always had elite talent (duh, he was the first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft) but hasn't consistently achieved the success his skills suggest he should. Part of that is injury. He missed over half the season a year ago and hasn't played a full year since 2020, his second in the league. That didn't stop Arizona from paying him $230.5 million, and perhaps now begins the time when Murray shows he's worth it.
"We gotta keep doing it," said Murray this week. "I gotta keep doing it. I'm my biggest critic - I expect greatness out of myself; I expect greatness out of our team."
Murray received a mountain of criticism when someone leaked a clause the organization was trying to include in the contract—that the signal caller needed to spend at least four hours extra a week studying independently. That led to questions about Murray's commitment — he has long continued his flirtation with baseball (he was drafted by the Oakland A's) and is a known video gamer (hey, all the kids do it). But the baseball noise has died down, and Murray's play, at least in this short sample size, has been exceptional.
"I don't really allow that to affect what goes on inside the building or mentally with me," said Murray of outside critique. "I'm worried about what's going on here and what we're trying to accomplish. Y'all have to do your thing. It is what it is, but no, it doesn't really affect us."
Murray is just the second player in NFL history with 4+ passing touchdowns, 100+ yards rushing, and zero interceptions over his team's first two games of a season. The only other? Lamar in 2019 when he won his first MVP.
LET HIM DECIDE
The Dolphins placed Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve Tuesday following his most recent concussion, which he suffered two Thursdays ago in a loss to the Bills. That means the quarterback will be unavailable at the bare minimum for the next four games.
I understand the concern for Tagovailoa's long-term health—this is the third diagnosed concussion of his NFL career — but I'm uncomfortable with the number of people — fans and media — imploring him to retire. He's a grown man. This is a game he loves. If he wants to continue, Tagovailoa understands the risks, both in the here and now and down the road.
NERD NUMBERS
- In their Week 2 loss against the Commanders, the Giants became the first team in NFL history to score 3+ TD, allow 0 TD, and lose in regulation.
- Caleb Williams is 1 of 3 QBs in 2024 with 0 pass TD & 2+ INT (Bryce Young and Bo Nix). Williams has been sacked 9 times over his first 2 games (T-most in 2024 with Gardner Minshew).
- The Colts' 474 rushing yards allowed are the most by any team over the first two games of a season since the 1978 Colts (allowed 570 rushing yards).
- Sam Darnold has a perfect 158.3 passer rating when blitzed in the 2024 season (NGS). Darnold vs. blitz: 8-8, 207 yds, 25.9 yds/att, 3 TD, 0 INT (all 1st/T-1st in NFL)
- The Packers lead the NFL with 424 rushing yards in 2024 (212.0 YPG). They have not led the NFL in rushing since 1964 when Vince Lombardi was the head coach and Hall of Famer Jim Taylor was their leading rusher.
- Brock Bowers has 15 receptions (T-most among rookies) and 156 receiving yards (2nd among rookies) in 2024. His 9 catches in Week 2 were the most by a rookie in franchise history, and his 98 receiving yards in Week 2 were 4th-most by rookie TE in franchise history.