I'll admit that in the last few weeks leading up to this matchup that was delayed twice before finally taking place today that I never took the Broncos (2-3) seriously. Shame on me since Denver came to Gillette Stadium this afternoon and led from start to finish in an incredibly ugly 18-12 (which is typically a final score from a gross Massachusetts high school football game!) victory. This debacle will be remembered as one of the worst performances of the Bill Belichick era and it was extra painful because it came on the same day that Tom Brady and the Bucs (4-2) destroyed the Packers (4-1) 38-10 and Jimmy Garropolo and the Niners (3-3) held off the Rams (4-2) 24-16. I refuse to cite New England's lack of practices lately as an excuse since not only was Denver playing under the same crappy circumstances but they also had to fly across the country during a pandemic and without two of their best offensive players (tight end Noah Fant and running back Melvin Gordon).
At age 23 Broncos quarterback Drew Lock (10-of-24 for 189 yards) became the youngest QB ever to beat Belichick which is a bit misleading since he did everything in his power (including throwing two awful interceptions in the 4th quarter) to let the Pats back in it but they fittingly couldn't complete the improbable comeback as Cam Newton (17-of-25 for 157 yards, 2 INTs; 76 yards rushing, TD) was pressured and misfired to N'Keal Harry (0 catches on 2 targets) on 4th-and-10 from the Denver 24-yard-line with 59 seconds left in regulation. New England's offensive line is a mess between injuries and positive Covid-19 tests so it's no wonder that the Broncos sacked Newton four times as they constantly pressured him all game long.
It's tough to win a football game at any level without scoring a single touchdown yet that's just what the Broncos did. Their kicker Brandon McManus received a huge contract extension right before this season started and I'd say that was money well spent since he went a perfect 6-for-6 today including a 52-yard field goal and a 54-yard field goal. The Patriots' lack of weapons really hurt them as once again, when Cam gets bottled up, they don't have any other options to count on. It was a strange day all around as Julian Edelman went 2-of-2 for 38 yards passing the ball in the fourth quarter which was much better than his invisible outing as a wideout (2 catches on 8 targets for 8 yards). Newton was the only Patriot that could run the ball and truth be told, exactly half of his yardage came on a single 38-yard carry. Likewise, James White (8 catches, 65 yards) was their only guy that could get anything done in the passing game.
Both teams were under 300 total yards but at least the Broncos had a pair of players-running back Phillip Lindsay (23 carries, 101 yards) and wide receiver Tim Patrick (4 catches, 101 yards)-who each went over 100 yards. Denver's red zone offense was atrocious and its lack of execution was the main reason that the Patriots were able make it somewhat interesting at the end. McManus had a pair of field goals in the first quarter then two more in the second quarter sandwiched around New England's first points (a 41-yard kick by Nick Folk) for a 12-3 halftime lead for the visitors. Things didn't get better in the third quarter for the Pats as Izzo summed up the miserable day when he fumbled after a 16-yard catch and run. Needless to say that with the NFL trade deadline coming up on November 3rd, New England could use a bunch of things: tight end, wide receiver, offensive lineman, linebacker, defensive lineman, etc.
Newton had the only touchdown of the game, a 1-yard sneak midway through the fourth quarter that cut it to 18-9 before he was stopped trying to run it in for a two-point conversion. The Pats defense gave their team a chance as J.C. Jackson and Jonathan Jones picked off Lock on back-to-back possessions. Folk's 38-yard field goal provided the final points of the game. A sign of these bizarre times: the last time that New England was under .500 this far into a season was way back in 2002. The Bills (4-1) host the Chiefs (4-1) tomorrow night (5, ESPN) and the Dolphins (3-3) blanked the Jets (0-6) aka the worst team in the the league 24-0 this afternoon so the Patriots are currently in third-place in the AFC East.
It won't get any easier as the NFC champion 49ers (3-3) come to Gillette next Sunday afternoon (4:25, CBS). San Francisco had been a bit of a mess but they picked up an impressive 24-16 win vs. the Rams (4-2) tonight in Sunday Night Football and Garropolo (23-of-33 for 268 yards, 3 TDs) looked great after he was pulled in last week's loss. Niners tight end George Kittle (7 catches, 109 yards, TD today) is a matchup nightmare and the best in the league at his position so good luck stopping that monster. This is not a very talented roster so Belichick along with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Jerod Mayo have their work cut out for them to turn this group of spare parts into a playoff team. Still, they should never be this bad no matter who opted out of this season, how many injuries or Covid-19 cases they get nor if their practice schedule gets completely out of whack.
No comments:
Post a Comment