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.

The Patriots Steamrolled The Hapless Jaguars 50-10 & Clinched A Playoff Spot In The Process

 

    While I take little joy in beating up on one of the worst franchises in American sports, the Patriots (10-6 overall, 4-5 home) desperately needed a win after two tough losses in a row against the Colts (9-7) and Bills (10-6) in the last few weeks. Enter the lambs known as the Jaguars (2-14 overall, 0-8 away) who came to Gillette Stadium this afternoon and got crushed 50-10 by the Pats. With the win, New England clinched a playoff spot and kept alive their faint hopes for a division title. This is the first regular season with 17 games and the Patriots will end the campaign next Sunday afternoon (4:25, CBS) in Miami (8-8) against the Dolphins who were elminated from playoff contention today following a 34-3 drubbing by the Titans (11-5)-who are back on top of the AFC. Buffalo hosts the Jets (4-12) which means it is unlikely that New York will pull off the upset, then again the Jags beat the Bills earlier this season so I guess we can't take almost anything for granted these days in the NFL.

    Seeing No. 1 overall pick rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence (17-of-27 for 193 yards, TD, 3 INTs) look like a puddle was a powerful reminder how much it is all about fit and the situation that you are in when it comes to the NFL. How much better would Lawrence be with the Pats? We'll never know but for now, we feel happy that we have rookie quarterback Mac Jones (22-of-30 for 227 yards, 3 TDs) on our side. New England also has perhaps the best 1-2 combination of running backs in the NFL as rookie Rhamondre Stevenson (19 carries, 107 yards, 2 TDs) and Damien Harris (2 TDs) combined for four touchdowns. This being the Pats, of course we also have to talk about an undrafted rookie wide receiver-Kristian Wilkerson-who made his NFL debut and caught not one but two touchdowns while fellow receiver N'Keal "Bust" Harry was a healthy scratch. 

    New England's top two wide receivers Kendrick Bourne (5 catches, 76 yards) and Jakobi Meyers (8 catches, 73 yards, TD) also had nice performances while cornerbacks Myles Bryant and J.C. Jackson along with safety Kyle Dugger each recorded an interception. Like a homecoming game in college football, this one was never remotely competitive. The Patriots were up 7-3 after the first quarter but that became 28-3 at halftime following three touchdowns by the home team in the second quarter. The Pats tacked on 13 more points in the third quarter and they cruised in the last frame by adding nine more points before Jacksonville scored the most garbage time of touchdowns-a 28-yard catch-and-run by running back Dare Ogunbowale-that along with Matthew Wright's PAT cut New England's lead down to 50-10. 

    After three rushing touchdowns last week, Harris fittingly notched the first score in this lopsided contest: a two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and kicker Nick Folk added a point after to make it 7-0. The Jags settled for a 29-yard field goal by Wright later in the first quarter. It only took until the second quarter for Jacksonville to look like they didn't want to be there anymore in the cold rain and fog of Foxborough in January. In a little under 11 minutes of game time, New England scored three touchdowns to effectively put it out of reach before halftime. Harris notched a seven-yard touchdown run, Wilkerson caught a six-yard touchdown (his 1st as a pro) and Meyers grabbed a four-yard touchdown with Folk adding three point afters for that 28-3 lead.

    In the third quarter, Wilkerson was left wide open and he caught a 20-yard touchdown (Folk's extra point was blocked) before Stevenson punched in a one-yard touchdown run (Folk's point after was good) after Dugger returned his interception to the Jacksonville one-yard line. In the fourth quarter, Folk hit a 43-yard field goal and Stevenson recorded a six-yard touchdown run (the two-point run conversion failed). The Alabama duo of rookie defensive lineman Christian Barmore and linebacker Dont'a Hightower both took down Lawrence for a sack apiece. This was your classic get right game for the Patriots and all you can hope is that like earlier in the season after they destroyed the Jets (4-12), New England can use this result as a springboard to bigger and better things. They shouldn't need any extra motivation against Miami who beat them in Week 1 at Gillette.  

With Apologies To 2Pac, The Patriots' Playoff Hopes Just Lived And Then Promptly Died In LA

 

    As always, let's be honest here: it's been fun to have a football team to care about for the past month. The Patriots (6-7 overall, 2-5 away) had won four of their last five games including Sunday's 45-0 pasting of the Chargers (3-9) to theoretically get back in the AFC playoff hunt. Playing in the same city-Los Angeles-and at the same futuristic stadium-SoFi-four days later, New England was on the other end of a humbling result. In spite of their mediocre quarterback Jared Goff (16-of-25 for 137 yards, TD, INT), the Rams (9-4 overall, 5-1 home) are a really good team and they proved that the Pats were no match for them tonight in a 24-3 win that didn't feel nearly that close. With three games left in the regular season, the Patriots have their most losses since 2002 (also their last season with less than 10 wins) and as a result, they will most likely miss out on the playoffs and their standard AFC East title for the first time since 2009. 

    New England had 220 total yards and quarterback Cam Newton (9-of-16 for 119 yards, INT) was pulled in the fourth quarter in favor of Jarrett Stidham (5-of-7 for 27 yards) but it made little difference. Before you get your hopes up that Stidham could start next Sunday afternoon (1, CBS) in Miami (8-4), Pats head coach Bill Belichick squashed that potential juicy storyline in his postgame press conference as he stubbornly stood by Newton for whatever reason. Ugh. LA has one of the better defenses in the league and they racked up six sacks including two by defensive tackle Michael Brockers and one-and-a-half by future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald. The two main factors that helped Los Angeles roll were that rookie running back Cam Akers (29 carries, 171 yards) had by far his best day as a pro (1st career 100-yard game) and linebacker Kenny Young had a 79-yard pick-6 early in the second quarter which made it 17-0 Rams and effectively ended it with tons of time left on the clock.

    The Rams are trying to win the loaded NFC West and secure home-field advantage in the playoffs so they weren't messing around when they went right down the field on the opening drive (6 plays, 75 yards in 3:39) capped off by a one-yard sneak by Goff. Other than that rough start, the Patriots defense was fine. They only allowed 10 other points on a 35-yard field goal by Matt Gay later in the first quarter and a two-yard touchdown catch by Cooper Kupp in the third quarter. They even set Newton and the offense up with great field position after an amazing interception by undrafted rookie cornerback Myles Bryant who wrestled the ball away from Rams wide receiver Robert Woods. Bryant returned it for a touchdown but he was ruled down by contact so the Patriots got the ball at the Rams 32-yard line only trailing 10-0. After two carries by Pats running back Damien Harris (11 carries, 50 yards), Newton looked for him on a screen pass but it was overthrown (after Donald briefly held him) and Young took it to the house. On the ensuring drive, the Patriots drove to the Rams 2-yard line before offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels called some sort of fake option pitch where Newton got tackled for a loss of two yards. Goodnight Patriots. Nick Folk's 29-yard field goal with 1:04 left in the first half was all that they could muster in 60 minutes.

    I don't look at this as revenge for the Super Bowl two years ago since not only have the teams changed drastically (ie. no Tom Brady) but as we all hopefully understand, you cannot compare a regular season game to the NFL title game. LA head coach Sean McVay is no slouch but he has his work cut out for him trying to win a Super Bowl with Goff. Other than him, the Rams basically have everything you want (talented running backs and receivers, decent tight ends, a great defense, one of the best punters ever) in a true contender. As long as Goff as their starter though, I can't see them going all the way. Luckily, the Rams have tons of money invested in him so he probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

    Of much more interest to us, a Bills (9-3) win on Sunday afternoon vs. the Steelers (11-1) guarantees that either Buffalo or Miami will take the division this season. Furthermore, with playoff spots and seeding to jockey for, it's tough to picture the Patriots beating the Dolphins or Bills (who they host the following week on Monday Night Football) before the season finale against the Jets (0-12) who likely will be cementing a winless masterpiece. In the few times that we have seen Stidham in an actual NFL game, he has shown very little to inspire much confidence that he'll be a starter anytime soon on a good team. With that said, don't you have to at least give him his first career start (not against the Jets) the second that the Patriots are officially eliminated from playoff contention-in the next few days or weeks-just to know what you really have (if anything) in him? It's abundantly clear that Newton's best days are long behind him and whispers about Cam coming back next season to start once again are enough to give us all nightmares. If you don't have a good quarterback, you are doomed and right now, your guess for who will be the next great Pats quarterback is as good as mine.