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.

Thanks To Zach Wilson, The Patriots Win Their 15th (!!!) Straight Game Against The Jets 15-10

 

    The wins for the Patriots (1-2) this season will probably be few and far between so we have to celebrate them-albeit briefly-no matter how ugly they are, including today's 15-10 tractor pull at MetLife Stadium against the hapless Jets (1-2). In the wind and rain, the Jets' offense was non-existent (171 total yards) while the Patriots never made it into the red zone and missed two field goals. Did I mention that the only touchdowns of the game were scored by New England's third tight end-Pharaoh Brown-and New York's fullback-Nick Bawden? Yeah, it was that kind of extremely forgettable and ugly game just as you knew that it would be but at least the Pats are not 0-3 and talks of firing head coach Bill Belichick will calm down for a few days. New England almost gagged it away too as it came down to the final play: Jets quarterback Zach Wilson's (18-of-36 for 157 yards, 3 sacks) hail mary attempt was knocked down at the goal-line but receiver Randall Cobb dropped the ball that was deflected right to him. Yeesh, never in doubt for the Patriots who have now won 15th straight contests against New York-the longest current streak in the NFL-dating back to 2016. 

    Other than not losing, it is hard to feel that great about this hollow victory for the Pats since if they faced a competent quarterback, let alone an elite one, we realize that this would have surely resulted in another loss. Instead, thanks to Aaron Rodgers' season-ending injury in Week 1, they got to face Wilson who appears on the fast track to being one of the great busts of his generation. What a clown, only the Jets would refuse to sign a veteran QB to help them or at least give backup Tim Boyle a shot. Can he really be worse than Wilson who is the worst starting quarterback in the league (and I am sure that many backups are better than him as well)? By comparison Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (15-for-29, 201 yards, TD) who is the definition of average at this level looks like a future Hall of Famer. 

    It is scary that this game was not decided until the final play. Pats rookie kicker Chad Ryland hit two long field goals-from 48 yards in the first quarter and from 51 yards in the third quarter-but he also missed two others after a pair of bad snaps from Joe Cardona. New England's lack of explosive players and chunk plays is pathetic. Brown's 58-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter came solely because New York somehow left him wide open down the seam. Ryland's PAT made it 10-0 and the only thing that saved New York from getting shut out in the first half was a 52-yard field goal by veteran kicker Greg Zuerlein late in the second quarter. 

If you thought that the first half was dull (and boy was it ever!), the second half was even more unwatchable as the lone points came from that Ryland field goal, Bawden's one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and then the requisite safety allowed by Wilson who could not get rid of the ball before Patriots defensive end Matthew Judon sacked him in the end zone. The win gets New England out of the basement of the AFC East although Miami (3-0) and Buffalo (2-1) each looked infinitely better than these sorry clubs this afternoon as the Dolphins beat the Broncos (0-3) 70-20 (yes, that is a real NFL score) and the Bills (2-1) nearly shut out the Commanders (2-1) in DC 37-3. Next Sunday's matchup (4:25, Fox) in Dallas (2-1) looks a little less hopeless as the Cowboys clearly did not take the Cardinals (1-2) seriously in Arizona and paid for it by losing 28-16 in a surprising yet very Dallas like choke job.

    Despite what happened today, the Cowboys still have an excellent defense so it is hard to imagine that the Pats will be able to move the ball and more importantly, score many points against them. Perhaps it will be a revenge game for ex-Cowboy Ezekiel Elliott (16 carries, 80 yards)? You will remember that New England has not even topped 20 points so far this season in their first three games which is a recipe for disaster. They should be a double-digit underdog and it feels like a bounce back spot for Dallas (if they are a true contender) after that no-show. The Pats' only real advantage is Belichick vs. the Cowboys' buffoon head coach Mike McCarthy but that can only get you so far when your roster is not in the same area code in terms of depth and talent. An upset in Dallas would be one of New England's best wins in the post-Tom Brady era but I cannot see it happening in real life unless something truly crazy occurs deep in the heart of Texas at Jerry World. 

The Pats Finally Signed A Running Back-Former Cowboys Star Ezekiel Elliott-To A One-Year Deal

 

    For a team that is desperate to get a little juice heading into what looks like another blah regular season, the Patriots at least made things a little more interesting yesterday as reports surfaced that they were signing former Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott to a one-year deal. After showing some interest earlier this summer in the other veteran free agent running backs worth mentioning-Dalvin Cook and Leonard Fournette-New England settled on Zeke who can earn up to six million dollars in 2023 ($3 million base salary, $1 million signing bonus and up to $2 million via incentives). The Pats already have many other pressing issues-offensive line, wide receiver, quarterback, cornerbacks, etc-but as a backup running back behind their top offensive weapon-Rhamondre Stevenson-Elliott should prove to be valuable assuming that he is not a clown (which can be a challenge for him). 

    In seven seasons with Dallas, Elliott was very good for the most part after he was drafted fourth overall out of Ohio State in 2016. He made the Pro Bowl three times and was an All-Pro once with four 1000-yard rushing seasons including a career-high 1631 in his rookie season. He has also scored 10+ rushing touchdowns in four seasons which was topped by 15 in that incredible rookie campaign. Ezekiel is known for his excellent pass-blocking (something that figures to be much needed with the Patriots' terrible offensive line) but he has shown the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield as well with 32+ catches in five of his seven seasons. We all know that 30-years-old is the magic age when NFL running backs are grounded into dust and Zeke just turned 28 a few weeks ago. 

    So why was he available this deep into the preseason? Dallas released him way back in March and he is coming off of easily his worst pro season: 231 carries, 876 rushing yards (3.8 yards per carry), 12 rushing TDs; 17 catches, 92 receiving yards. The Cowboys have running back Tony Pollard who despite the fact that he is coming off a serious knee injury from last season, the fact is that he is younger and better than Elliott at this time in their respective careers. The only other running backs that the Patriots currently employ are the very uninspiring group of Pierre Strong Jr., Kevin Harris, Ty Montgomery and J.J. Taylor. For that reason alone, signing Elliott or one of the other veterans that I noted was a no-brainer. 

    Fournette was said to be out of shape at his workout with the Pats and you knew that Cook would get the most money since he is the best player of the trio so that is why Elliott signed his contract today and is flying to Green Bay to meet his new team ahead of their joint practices this week and preseason game with the Packers on Saturday night. A few hours after the Elliott news broke yesterday, Cook signed a one-year contract worth up to $8.6 million with the Jets. That seemed like a foregone conclusion from a few weeks ago when Cook made a very public visit to New York's training camp. It is hard not to think that Dalvin chose the Jets over the Patriots since the team in New York is way closer to a championship contender than the one in Foxborough. That is the sad reality of the Elliott signing: it is only a temporary band-aid to make us forget about all the other major holes on this average roster that has all the makings of an 7-10 or 8-9 team. 

The Pats Came Close Again But Couldn't Beat A Good Team As They Fell 35-29 In OT Vs. Dallas

 

    The Patriots (2-4 overall, 0-4 home) had another great opportunity to beat one of the better teams in the NFL this evening at Gillette Stadium but just like the Bucs (5-1) game two weeks ago, they came up short as they lost 35-29 in overtime to the Cowboys (5-1 overall, 2-1 away). In many ways, it would have been a miracle if Pats head coach Bill Belichick and his team had found a way to pull this one out since Dallas is clearly a more talented and much deeper team. The Cowboys recorded nearly twice as many first downs (32-17), they totalled over 200 more yards (567-335), held the ball for over 12 more minutes than the home team (39:17-26:51) and ran a whopping 32 more plays (82-50). So why the hell wasn't this an easy blowout win for America's Team? That was mostly because they were called for an absurd amount of penalties (12 for 115 yards) and they had two backbreaking turnovers in the red zone. 

    Much like the Tampa showdown, I don't think many logical people believed this would be all that competitive so kudos to the Patriots for almost pulling this off. Still, how many times can we pat them on the head for a close loss? This was already the third time this season that they have lost by one score.  That gets old really fast, especially when you have a chance to win in overtime only to stall on your lone drive and have Dallas' star quarterback Dak Prescott (36-of-51 for 445 yards, 3 TDs, INT) hit his speedy receiver CeeDee Lamb (9 catches, 149 yards, 2 TDs) with a walk-off 35-yard touchdown pass. 

    The end of the fourth quarter was insane as the Cowboys looked to have it sealed when their outstanding young cornerback Trevon Diggs (brother of Bills WR Stefon) picked off Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones (15-of-21 for 229 yards, 2 TDs, INT) and ran the pick-6 back 42 yards to put Dallas ahead 26-21 (they failed on the 2-point conversion) with 2:27 left in regulation. However, on the next play Jones hit New England receiver Kendrick Bourne for a 75-yard touchdown catch-and-run. The Pats got the two-point conversion as well with Jones finding wideout Jakobi Meyers on the goal-line. The issue at that point was that there was too much time remaining and the Patriots' defense was completely gassed. Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein had missed an early field goal but he was nails on a 49-yard attempt with 20 seconds left to go that tied it at 29. 

    This is the first time since 1993 (aka Bill Parcells' first year in charge here) that the Patriots have started 0-4 at home. In the past (mostly because they had Tom Brady), this would have been a game that they would have stolen. They scored first and led 14-7 after the first quarter and 14-10 at halftime. New England running back Damien Harris (18 carries, 101 yards) held onto the ball this week and he had a four-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0 with kicker Nick Folk's extra point. Prescott and the Cowboys answered as he found tight end Blake Jarwin with a one-yard touchdown pass on a simple play action fake. Zuerlein's point after tied it at seven but New England went ahead 14-7 on the following drive: tight end Hunter Henry caught a touchdown for the third week in a row, this time from 20 yards out and Folk's PAT made it 14-7 in favor of the good guys. The only points in the second quarter was a 30-yard field goal by Zuerlein. Prescott fumbled on the goal-line when he dove on a quarterback sneak but Pats linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley knocked the ball free and fellow linebacker Kyle Van Noy recovered it. Earlier in the frame, safety Kyle Dugger grabbed his first career interception after cornerback Justin Bethel deflected the pass intended for Dallas receiver Cedrick Wilson in the end zone. 

    Dallas took their first lead in the third quarter when Dak found Lamb for a pretty one-yard fade to the corner. Zuerlein's point after gave the Cowboys a 17-14 advantage which they took into the fourth quarter. Zuerlein's 45-yard field goal put the Cowboys up 20-14 early in the final stanza but Patriots rookie running back Rhamondre Stevenson rumbled in for a one-yard touchdown run that staked his club to a 21-20 lead thanks to Folk's PAT. Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory sacked Jones twice and nearly killed him both times since he basically got to him untouched. New England's offensive line continues to be a nightmare.  

    The Patriots should finally get that first home win of 2021 next Sunday afternoon (1, CBS) as they host the Jets (1-4) who they beat 25-6 at MetLife Stadium in Week 2. Honestly though, will that prove anything? So far, the Jets and Texans (1-5) are the only teams they have managed to beat this season. That Week 1 loss to the Dolphins (1-5) looks terrible at this point along with their no-show against the Saints (3-2). The bottom line is that this looks like a non-playoff team for the second season in a row. That does not sound like much but remembering how spoiled we were for 20 years makes this particularly painful. The Patriots were the model franchise in sports for most of those two decades and now they appear to be a rudderless franchise filled with so many aging veterans, bad draft picks and a stubborn old head coach who is obviously nowhere near the same guy without the best quarterback in NFL history on his side.

Cowboys Fall To The Patriots And It's Not Even Tony Romo's Fault

I will be the first to admit that in the past week, I never once was scared of the Dallas Cowboys or particularly their bipolar quarterback Tony Romo.

I'm not enough of a honk to say I could never imagine Dallas beating New England but can we all admit that the Cowboys are the NFL equivalent of Notre Dame football? Just a completely delusional team and fanbase that think they're championship bound every season.

The Patriots (5-1) had to sweat it out at Gillette Stadium this afternoon against the Cowboys (2-3) but as usual Tom Brady (27 of 41, 289 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) came through with a two-minute drive to clinch it, 20-16 thanks to an 8-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez (8 catches, 68 yards) with 22 seconds remaining.

With its third straight victory, New England has now won 20 straight regular season home games while Brady and Bill Belichick tied Dan Marino/Don Shula's NFL record of 116 wins for a QB/coach combo.

Rob Gronkowski (7 catches, 74 yards), Deion Branch (3 catches, 69 yards) and Wes Welker (6 catches, 45 yards) made up for a lackluster running game (101 total yards) that had performed very well the last two weeks.

Ironically, Romo (27 of 41, 317 yards, TD, INT) makes a living of blowing all varieties of games in every way possible but this time, you couldn't really blame Jessica Simpson's ex. Wide receivers Dez Bryant (4 catches, 78 yards) and Miles Austin (7 catches, 74 yards) along with tight end Jason Witten (4 catches, 48 yards) are a formidable trio of weapons in the Cowboys passing game.

I mean if you want to get specific, the Dallas offensive coordinator and head coach Jason Garrett are most to blame as they got the ball back (up 16-13) at their own 28 with 3:36 left in the fourth quarter but they proceeded to run three safe and predictable runs. They knew Romo's late game problems so they basically took it out of his hands; I can't say I blame them but giving Brady the ball at his own 20 with 2:31 left is a recipe for disaster.

Penalty problems didn't help the Cowboys either as they were flagged 10 times for 77 yards. The Patriots only were called for five penalties totaling 35 yards.

Nevermind that New England's offense was sloppy all day (2 interceptions and a fumble, plus a fumbled kickoff), when they had to produce they did: 10 plays, 80 yards and not enough time for Dallas to do anything but have Romo end the game by throwing a hail mary out of bounds (short of the end zone).

The Cowboys defense came in with a good reputation, thanks to new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan (Rex's brother). It's way too easy to make fun of the Ryans but you have to admit that they know how to coach defense, especially against Belichick. Rob's Browns team last season was the last one before today's effort that held the Patriots under 30 points.

Dallas cornerback Terence Newman had an interception and a fumble recovery while linebacker Sean Lee had 12 tackles, six solo and an interception. Safety Gerald Sensabaugh added a fumble recovery on special teams.

The Patriots much-maligned defense earned some praise with this effort since they showed that they can survive a non-perfect outing from Brady and the offense (unlike Week 3's meltdown in Buffalo). Kyle Arrington (11 tackles, 7 solo) made his fourth interception of the season while Gerard Warren recovered a fumble. Hell, Andre Carter (5 tackles, 4 solo) even provided a semblance of a pass rush with two sacks.

You had to think Romo was in for a long day when he threw a bad interception on the first Dallas drive. New England brought it to the red zone but DeMarcus Ware (5 tackles, 2 sacks) sacked Brady on third down so the Pats had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.

The Patriots forced a punt on Dallas' next drive but Brady gave it right back as his pass intended for Branch was picked off by Newman. New England's defense was faced with a short field (at their own 23) but they pushed the Cowboys back as they had to settle for a 48-yard field goal by Dan Bailey.

On the ensuing kickoff, Matthew Slater fumbled. Luckily, Tashard Choice fumbled it right back to the Pats five plays later as the teams were tied 3-3 after one quarter.

New England's first drive of the second quarter stalled again in the red zone as Gostkowski hit a 26-yard field goal. After forcing a Dallas punt, the Patriots got the ball back and made it 13-3 with Brady's 5-yard touchdown pass to Welker. On the field he was ruled out but it was clear that was the wrong call so Belichick challenged it and it was reversed.

Romo answered with his best drive of the game, finding his boy Witten for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 33 seconds left in the half.

New England got the ball first to start the second half but they couldn't do much so they punted to Dallas.

Romo got the Cowboys down to the 7-yard line but Carter's 11-yard sack on second down forced Dallas to get more conservative (foreshadowing!) as Choice took a dump pass to the 4-yard line. Bailey tied it with a 22-yard field goal.

A 12-play drive seemed promising for Brady and Co. but they were forced to punt yet again. However, Dallas bailed them out by running into Zoltan Mesko. Four plays later, Hernandez fumbled after a hit by Bradie James.

The Cowboys couldn't take advantage of that as they eventually punted on the ensuing drive. The Patriots weren't content with three turnovers as Lee picked off Brady in Dallas territory.

The red zone proved to be a major issue as Dallas couldn't punch it in again. A shovel pass (really?) to Choice on 3rd-and-Goal from the 5-yard line shockingly enough didn't work. Pats linebacker Brandon Spikes (8 tackles, 6 solo) made the play in what was one of his best performances as a pro. Bailey's 26-yard field goal still put the Cowboys up 16-13 and in position to pull off a major upset.

New England went three-and-out on their next possession but no worries since Dallas wouldn't dare let Romo throw the ball no matter what.

You always want a bye week later in the season when injuries have really mounted but at 5-1 and sitting in first place in the AFC East, I can't complain too much about the Patriots having next week off. Their next game is Sunday, October 30 at Pittsburgh and who knows, maybe Jerod Mayo will be back by then. The Steelers are always one of the AFC's top teams but in the last decade, I feel like the Patriots usually find a way to beat them home or away.

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