With Judon & Gonzalez Likely Out For Rest Of The Season, Bill Belichick Brings Back J.C. Jackson

    By any measure, Sunday's game at Dallas (3-1) could not have gone much worse for New England (1-3) as they got embarrassed 38-3-the worst loss of Bill Belichick's head coaching career-in front of a national TV audience. It was so gross that I did not feel like writing about it afterwards since how many different ways can you get the obvious point across that they suck? The pain from that debacle will last for a long time since the two best players on the Patriots-defensive end Matthew Judon (bicep) and cornerback Christian Gonzalez (shoulder)-each suffered what seem to be season-ending injuries that will both require surgery. Facing a brutal 1-3 start for the third season in a row, Belichick worked the phone lines and came up with a cornerback that we all know very well: J.C. Jackson. This morning, LA traded Jackson to New England along with a seventh-round pick in 2025 for a sixth-round pick in 2025. Sweetening the deal for Bill is the fact that the dopey Chargers are paying almost all of his salary ($9.33 million) for the rest of the season with the Pats only on the hook for $1.5 million. 

    Back in the good old days when the Patriots were one of the best teams in the NFL every season (you know, because they had Tom Brady), a move like this would be universally lauded. Instead, this is a frustrating move now for a couple reasons: 1) I understand that New England's defense just lost two standout players but Bill spends way too much time and money on that unit to begin with while he completely ignores the offense. 2) If the Chargers did not pay most of Jackson's money, is there any chance that Belichick would pull the trigger on this deal? Nope, because he loves cheap deals more than actual talent which is totally backwards if you want to win championships. Jackson is still only 27 years old and in his sixth season in the league (4 in New England and 2 in Los Angeles) but he has become the latest poster child for a guy that rightfully cashed in on a career season (he was an All-Pro his last season with the Pats and second in the NFL with 8 INTs) but he has done nothing since then.

    He ended up only playing seven total games with the Chargers after hurting his knee in Week 7 last season and in Week 3 a few weeks ago, things got so bad that he was a healthy scratch. After accumulating 25 interceptions as a Patriot and becoming an unlikely star who was undrafted out of Maryland, he only snagged one pick with LA. His monster deal in free agency-5 years, $82.5 million-runs through 2026 so you can bet that no matter what, New England will not want to pay that so he will probably be gone from Foxborough once again when this miserable season comes to an end. It is also troublesome that Belichick only appears to be interested in hiring coaches (Bill O'Brien) that he has already worked with or getting players that have previously played for him. If you only surround yourself with familiar faces and players that nobody else wants, how are you supposed to grow and gain new knowledge? 

    For this and many other reasons-quarterback Mac Jones had the worst game of his life against the Cowboys-the Pats are clearly at another pivotal moment in their franchise history. They host the Saints (2-2) on Sunday (1, CBS) at Gillette Stadium. New Orleans' quarterback Derek Carr (shoulder) is banged up so even if he plays or if goofball Jameis Winston is the starter, this should be a winnable game. However, other than the Jets, it is tough to favor New England against anyone else at the moment. They have so many holes on their roster which was mediocre at best to start the year. Judon was a legitimate Pro Bowler and Gonzalez looked like a steal and an early favorite for the Defensive Rookie of The Year. They are in such rough shape that we all hope that Jackson starts on Sunday after only being back here for a few days. Have you seen fellow cornerback Myles Bryant try to play football? Even if the Patriots win a rock fight against the Saints, it is hard to see them getting the requisite nine or ten wins that it will take to reach the playoffs this season.

Tua Tagovailoa Improves To 5-0 Vs. The Patriots As Miami (2-0) Beats New England (0-2) 24-17

 

    The glory days of the Patriots have long since passed by and now, they are just another middling NFL team trying to figure things out year after year. I am not saying that he cannot coach anymore but New England head coach Bill Belichick sure looks and acts his age plus nobody will be mentioning him as one of the top coaches in the league anymore now that Tom Brady is officially retired and never coming back to play for the Pats. The AFC East used to be a cakewalk when the Patriots were on top and now they are struggling to stay out of the basement. They still cannot find a way to beat Miami (2-0) who came to Gillette Stadium this evening for a Sunday Night Football matchup and left with a 24-17 victory that dropped New England to 0-2 for the first time since 2001. Of course, you will remember that they ended up winning the Super Bowl that season-the start of the dynasty-but needless to say, they will not be anywhere close to this year's Super Bowl, only watching it from home like you and I. 

    Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (21-of-30 for 249 yards, TD, INT) is far from one of the top signal-callers in the NFL and yet the Patriots have still never beaten him. The former Alabama star bumped his perfect record to 5-0 vs. Belichick which is tied with former Steelers quarterback Neil O'Donnell for the best individual mark against Bill. Just like last week's opening 25-20 loss to the Eagles (2-0), another slow start doomed the home team. Forget about the fake comeback too since they trailed 17-3 going into the fourth quarter before briefly making it interesting. In the post-Brady years here, the Pats have struggled against good teams and also in close games. If you cannot consistently win in either of those scenarios, you are not a playoff team and you have to wonder how much longer Belichick deserves to be the head coach/GM. 

    The other Crimson Tide quarterback-Mac Jones (31-for-42 for 231 yards, TD, INT)-in action in his AFC East showdown did not play as well as he did against Philadelphia but that was also a function of New England's running game really struggling. Mac is not good enough on his own to win games when the rest of his team fails to perform at a high level which is why ultimately, they will never win anything of note with him unless they surround him with a 49ers or Eagles style loaded roster. Miami's kicker Jason Sanders had the only points of the dull first quarter-a 23-yard field goal. Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert (18 carries, 121 yards, 2 TDs) was the player of the game and he ran for an eight-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that coupled with a point after from Sanders made it 10-0. The Patriots barely avoided getting shutout on their home field in the first half as rookie kicker Chad Ryland hit a 49-yard field goal (the first of his pro career) to cut it to 10-3 Fins. Miami marched right down the field though and Tua found wide receiver Tyreek Hill for a two-yard touchdown catch with 11 seconds left in the first half. Sanders' PAT made it 17-3 as the Patriots trailed by 14 points at halftime. 

    If you thought that the first quarter was a bore (and oh was it ever!), the third quarter was enough to put anyone but a hardcore Dolphins fan to sleep. Neither team scored in that frame but Jones found his tight end Hunter Henry for a six-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter that made it 17-10 Miami after Ryland's point after. Patriots rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez-one of their only bright spots so far in 2023-added another play to his personal highlight reel as he picked off Tua for his first career interception. Mostert made it a two-score game yet again though with a 41-yard touchdown run where he was untouched while he sped to the end zone. Sanders' PAT increased Miami's lead to 24-10. New England closed it out with a two-yard touchdown run by Rhamondre Stevenson and a point after by Ryland that made it 24-17 Dolphins late in the fourth quarter. 

    It is silly to call a game in Week 2 or 3 a must-win, however if tonight was not a must-win (and it probably was because only like 10% of NFL teams that start 0-2 ever reach the playoffs), next week's matchup with the Jets (1-1) at Met Life Stadium (1, CBS) is the true test for whether the Patriots should have any sliver of hope for this doomed season or if they need to begin tanking ASAP (which Bill would never allow so close to Don Shula's win record but you catch my drift). New York had Super Bowl aspirations but as you may have heard, Aaron Rodgers tore his Achille's in his fourth play as a Jet, leaving them with Zach Wilson (maybe the worst QB in the NFL) as their starter. He threw three interceptions as New York got blown out 30-10 in Dallas (2-0) this afternoon. The Jets have tons of talent all over the field-unlike the Patriots-but if Belichick and his team cannot beat Wilson then major yikes.  

Moral Victory Crew (Pats) Lose Third Straight Opener-25-20-To Eagles With TB12 At Gillette

 

    Like any reasonable person, my expectations for the Patriots are very low entering the 2023 season. They look far more destined for last place in the loaded AFC East (the toughest division in football?) instead of a much needed return to the playoffs. This afternoon at rainy Gillette Stadium, they put forth a decent effort but predictably fell short against the more talented and deeper Eagles 25-20. The fact that Tom Brady was in the building for a halftime ceremony only underlined the main point: this team is far away from their glory days and sadly, they do not appear to be getting any closer to the level of say a team like Philadelphia which lost in last season's Super Bowl to Kansas City. Sure, New England's new/old offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien is a marked improvement over head coach Bill Belichick's lackey Matt Patricia but it is tough to win when you spot a quality opponent a 16-0 lead in the first quarter. 

    It got better from there as the Pats cut it to 16-14 Eagles at halftime and they were down 25-20 late in the fourth quarter with multiple chances to steal a victory but they could not take advantage of Philly actively trying to give the game away to them. Just like in the past few years, New England is better at finding ways to lose and/or beat themselves rather than winning like they used to quite often when Brady was a Patriot. It is undoubtedly a huge season (his 3rd in the NFL) for Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (35-of-54 for 316 yards, 3 TDs, INT) as the team can fully assess if he is a true franchise quarterback or just an average player that is inherently replaceable. On paper, his numbers looked very solid but the interception was a pick-6 by Philly's star cornerback Darius Slay that went for 70 yards and gave the Eagles an early 10-0 lead. 

    We worry about New England's lack of playmakers on both sides of the ball these days, they have nothing close to Philly's excellent wide receiver duo of A.J. Brown (7 catches, 79 yards) and DeVonta Smith (7 catches, 47 yards, TD). Pats receiver Kendrick Bourne (6 catches, 64 yards, 2 TDs) did flash his ability that was largely stapled to the sideline (for whatever goofy reason) last season. While he is not a true No. 1 WR, he has good chemistry with Jones which should mean something. New England figures to be a solid running team but they are not going to beat many teams when they combine for a pedestrian 76 yards rushing like they did today. In his Patriots debut, Ezekiel Elliott (7 carries, 29 yards; 5 catches, 14 yards) had a costly fumble that directly led to Smith's five-yard TD catch from Eagles star quarterback (and Mac's old buddy from Alabama) Jalen Hurts (22-of-33 for 170 yards, TD; 9 carries, 37 yards rushing) that made it 16-0 Eagles (Jake Elliott missed the PAT after earlier hitting a 32-yard field goal). If New England is going to be any good in 2023, they need another huge campaign from running back Rhamondre Stevenson and his outing today could best be described as uneven: he was completely bottled up running the ball (12 carries, 25 yards rushing) but he somewhat made up for that with six catches for 64 yards which included New England's longest play of the day-a 32-yard catch and run that was all thanks to his elusiveness and speed in the open field.

Pats tight end-and newly elected captain-Hunter Henry finally got them some points with his nine-yard touchdown catch from Jones late in the first half. Rookie kicker Chad Ryland added the point after for his first career point in the NFL. New England got the ball back before halftime and cashed in with Jones' best throw of the day: a 19-yard dart to Bourne in the end zone that coupled with Ryland's second PAT cut it to 16-14 Philadelphia at the break. Elliott is one of the best kickers in the league and he showed off that ability with a 56-yard field goal in the third quarter followed by 48 (off the goal post and in) and 51-yard kicks in the fourth quarter which put the Eagles back in front by two scores (25-14). Bourne once again answered the call with another clutch snag-an 11-yard touchdown catch where he got his feet down inbounds in the back of the end zone. The Pats went for two points and appeared to convert it when Mac ran it in but that was of course called back for holding. Their second shot at it obviously ended with an incomplete pass. 

    Safety Jabrill Peppers gave the Pats a chance to win it late in the fourth quarter when he forced a fumble by Hurts that was recovered by cornerback Marcus Jones. New England turned it over on downs on that drive but they surprisingly got one final chance to win it after Philly made the stupid decision to throw it (incomplete) on 4th-and-2 from midfield. Mac's arm will never be elite and that really shows up in tight contests like this where he cannot complete throws that top level NFL quarterbacks have to be able to routinely make. He is also not nearly athletic enough like a Hurts to make up for that glaring weakness. Being smart, tough and a a good teammate only gets you so far at the toughest position in sports. On the bright side, New England's first round pick this past spring-cornerback Christian Gonzalez looked very legit in his first NFL game. He had five tackles, two assists, a sack (!!!) and a pass deflected. Most importantly, he bounced back from a few mistakes and did not shy away from competing against some of the best receivers in the league. 

    Things do not get any easier for the Pats though as they host the Dolphins (1-0) back at Gillette Stadium for Sunday Night Football (8:20, NBC). Miami beat the Chargers (0-1) 36-34 in a track meet this afternoon on the West Coast. Mac faces another Crimson Tide pal Tua Tagovailoa (466 passing yards, 3 TDs) who went crazy against LA along with his top target-wide receiver Tyreek Hill (11 catches, 215 yards, 2 TDs) who is still probably the most explosive wideout in the NFL. Tua has missed plenty of time in his young pro career due to injuries but he has never lost to the Patriots and Miami is expected to be a playoff team again-if he can finally stay healthy-this season. Regardless of who they have played, an 0-2 start for New England would be pretty grim since both of those games were at home where you have to find a way to win at least one of them.