And That's What We Get For Putting Any Faith In This Hopelessly Flawed Patriots Team In 2020

 

    Listen, we all knew that the Patriots (4-6 overall, 1-4 away) were not going to win the Super Bowl this season. However, at least in the last few weeks they had given us not only a reason to tune into their games but also a brief moment to consider that perhaps they could be a playoff team in 2020 with an improbable late-season run. That all came to a crashing halt today in Houston (3-7 overall, 2-3 home) as they lost to a terrible Texans club 27-20 at NRG Stadium. Before today, the only other team that Houston had beaten this season was its wretched AFC South rival Jacksonville (1-9) as they already swept that dog poop season series. The Pats already had little margin for error but now realistically, they probably would have to at the very least go 5-1 to even have a chance to be a Wild Card team but more likely 6-0 to finish 10-6. Sigh. 

    Since they have what has to be one of the least explosive offenses in the NFL, the Patriots can't afford to fall behind by too many points since it takes way too much time and effort to scratch out anything from many of their drives. After scoring first and being tied at seven after the first quarter, the Texans outscored them 14-3 in the second quarter to take a 21-10 halftime lead. New England actually outplayed Houston in the second half-outscoring them 10-6-but much like previous losses this season at Seattle, vs. Denver and at Buffalo, the Pats had a shot to tie it late but they couldn't convert on 4th-and-4 from the Houston 24-yard line which for all intents and purposes sealed their fate. 

    Despite their clunky first half performance, this loss shouldn't be pinned solely on Cam Newton (26-of-40 for 365 yards and 1 TD) or New England's 1950s style offense. Wide receiver Damiere Byrd (6 catches for a season-high 132 yards, 1 TD on 7 targets) had his best game as a Patriot and running back Damien Harris scored another touchdown while James White (64 yards receiving, 19 yards rushing) stepped up after Rex Burkhead suffered what looked to be a torn ACL in his left knee on a rushing attempt. Two field goals by kicker Nick Folk accounted for the other six points by the Patriots. 

    Nope, this latest setback falls on New England's invisible defense that allowed Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson (28-of-37 for 344 yards, 2 TDs; 36 yards rushing, 1 TD) to dominate them. The Pats secondary is supposed to be elite (especially with Stephon Gilmore finally back after a month away due to his shady knee injury) but they couldn't contain the likes of former Patriot Brandin Cooks (4 catches for 85 yards on 5 targets), tight end Jordan Akins (5 catches, 83 yards on 6 targets) set a career-high in yardage while wide receiver Will Fuller (6 catches for 80 yards on 8 targets) continually beat the Patriots on intermediate routes. The Pats defense might as well have not made the trip to Texas since they didn't record a sack let alone a turnover. Houston had two sacks and J.J. Watt came back from the dead to deflect four passes which seems like an absurdly high total for his ghost in 2020. 

    The game started off very well for the Patriots as they forced a Texans punt on their first possession then New England put together their best drive of the afternoon: 10 plays, 84 yards in 5:32 that ended with a toss to Harris that he ran in the end zone from nine yards out. Houston responded on their next drive as they tied it on Watson's three-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb. Folk's 45-yard field goal early in the second quarter briefly gave the Pats another slim lead (10-7) but once again, the Texans answered right back with a four-yard touchdown run by Watson that ended with him running over Pats safety and captain Devin McCourty as he powered his way into the end zone. That play was a good summary of this mostly forgettable campaign by the Pats. For good measure, Houston tacked on a back-breaking touchdown with 10 seconds left in the first half when Watson found Keke Coutee with a six-yard pass.

    They might stink but I wouldn't say that this team has tuned out head coach Bill Belichick since they have usually come out motivated to start the second half this season. Cam had one of his best plays as a Patriot-a 42-yard dime to Byrd for a gorgeous over-the-shoulder grab that cut it to 21-17 Texans early in the third quarter. The Pats defense at least held Houston to a 36-yard field goal by Ka'imi Fairbairn to put the home team back up by seven points (24-17). The Pats had a chance to tie it midway through the fourth quarter but their drive stalled out on the edge of the red zone. Folk's 36-yard field goal turned out to be their final points while Fairbairn's 46-yard field goal on the following drive gave the Texans some more breathing room. 

    Thanksgiving is not going to be the same for any of us this week and when we next see the Patriots in action on Sunday afternoon (1, FOX) they will be hosting the Cardinals (6-4 overall, 3-2 away) at Gillette Stadium. Everybody knows that with Kyler Murray under center-one of the great young QBs in the league-that Arizona is a better team than New England. They are also in the middle of a tight playoff race in the NFC West-the best division in football-so they won't be lacking for motivation. Just because nothing makes sense in this awful year, something goofy will happen like a weather game (such as the rainstorm last Sunday night against Baltimore) and the West Coast team that plays indoors will have a tough time with the early gametime for their bodies. However, even if the Pats somehow find a way to knock off the Cardinals, today served as a harsh reminder not to let them fool us into thinking they are anything notable based off of one solid victory.

In A Monsoon At Gillette Stadium, Pats Pick Up Their Best Win Of the Season, 23-17 vs. Ravens

 

    Starting this season with a woeful record of 2-5, the Patriots (4-5 overall, 3-2 home) put themselves in a major hole to even dream about a shot at the playoffs. However, on a short week after barely getting by the winless Jets (0-9) on Monday, the Pats won back-to-back games for the first time in 2020 as they held off the overrated Ravens (6-3 overall, 4-1 away) 23-17 tonight at rain-soaked Gillette Stadium. So much for tanking since a victory like this shows what they are capable of doing when they play classic complimentary football against one of the better teams in the AFC. It was not a fluke either because they held Baltimore's superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson (24-of-34 for 249 yards, 2 TDs, INT; 55 yards rushing) somewhat in check while New England's new top running back Damien Harris ran for a career-high 121 yards (his 3rd 100-yard game of the season) on just 22 carries. 

    Pats quarterback Cam Newton (13-of-17 for 118 yards, TD; 21 yards rushing, TD) couldn't match the numbers that Jackson put up but he didn't need to with so many of his teammates stepping up to help him and most importantly, he had zero turnovers. Pats wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (5 catches for 59 yards on 7 targets; 24-yard touchdown pass!) continues to make plays while running back Rex Burkhead (66 total yards) caught a pair of touchdowns and cornerback J.C. Jackson set a franchise record with an interception in his fifth straight game and he also leads the NFL in picks this season with six. Besides some terrible snaps by Ravens center Matt Skura that caused three fumbles (!!) the terrible weather didn't affect the outcome as much as you would expect. Rain or no rain, throwing the ball still isn't Jackson's main strength and New England's defense at least contained his explosive play capability for the most part.  

    In a lot of ways, these teams want to do similar things offensively: control the clock and methodically march down the field before scoring. For that reason, neither is really built to play from behind so while Baltimore was up 7-0 in the second quarter then 10-7, New England took a 13-10 halftime lead and never looked back as they did just enough to hang on. Oddly enough, the first quarter and the fourth quarter were both scoreless so all the points came from the middle frames. The Ravens looked like undisciplined front-runners as they clearly let their frustrations get to them to the tune of eight penalties for 64 yards. The Patriots notched six more first downs (25-19) and surprisingly against one of the NFL's top rushing attacks, New England outgained them 173-115 on the ground. 

    Getting the ball to Harris was key from the start for the home team and he actually took hand-offs on the first five offensive plays. On the first play of the second quarter, Willie Snead (5 catches for 64 yards on 7 targets) took a flip from Jackson-officially credited as a pass-and got to the corner of the end zone first. The NFL's best kicker Justin Tucker added the PAT for a 7-0 Ravens lead. To call that drive impressive for Baltimore was an understatement as they went almost the entire field (94 yards in 13 plays) which took up over half a quarter (8:04). The Patriots answered with a strong drive of their own: 75 yards in seven plays that took 3:08. Burkhead caught a screen pass from Newton and rumbled in from seven yards out. Nick Folk's PAT tied it up at seven.

    The next drive for the Ravens stalled in the red zone as Jackson short-hopped a pass to his wide open tight end Mark Andrews (7 catches for 61 yards on 9 targets) in the middle of the end zone so they were forced to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Tucker. The Pats went into halftime with a 13-10 lead thanks to another great drive: 10 plays, 75 yards in 4:30. The go-ahead score came thanks to a moment of brilliance from Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels who called for a pass from Newton to Meyers who then lofted it into the end zone for a diving Burkhead. Folk missed the point after (which I was convinced would come back to bite them later) but that couldn't ruin what otherwise was a great effort in the first 30 minutes by the Patriots. The cherry on top was Lamar forcing a deep pass down the sideline and J.C. (no relation) picking it off which allowed Newton to kneel to end the half. 

    The Patriots added to their lead in the third quarter as Newton rushed for a four-yard touchdown (his 9th rushing TD of the season) followed by Folk's PAT. Speaking of Nick, he was called on for a chip shot (20 yard field goal) after Newton bounced a pass to Meyers that should have been a touchdown. Still, the Patriots were up by two touchdowns (23-10) which was a bit of a shock considering that they entered as a seven-point underdog. Lamar's best throw of the game was unquestionably his 18-yard dart to Snead with eight seconds left in the quarter. After Tucker's point after kick, that was as close as Baltimore would get as New England sacked Jackson twice (by John Simon and rookie Josh Uche) while rookie safety Kyle Duggar (12 tackles, 7 solo, 1/2 tackle for a loss) had his best game as a pro. Undrafted second-year linebacker Terez Hall (10 tackles, 8 solo) played well-whoever that is-while Chase Winovich (7 tackles, 6 solo) continues to dig himself out of Bill Belichick's dog house.

    As I've said before, absolutely nothing is guaranteed for this Patriots team but for once, they will be favored next Sunday (1, CBS) as they visit the awful Texans (2-7 overall, 1-3 home). Quarterback Deshaun Watson is stuck with that loser team while old friend Romeo Crennel is the interim head coach after Bill O'Brien was mercifully fired earlier this season. It is gross to say out loud but simply getting back to .500 (5-5) would be a real nice accomplishment for the Pats after their season looked completely doomed. If nothing else, they are giving us a good reason to watch them while the days get shorter and the weather continues to go downhill toward winter. Thankfully, it looks like we can at least have a football season after all and in 2020, we'll take it!

Down 27-17 After 3 Quarters, The Pats Squeaked One Out Against the Soon-To-Be 0-16 Jets, 30-27

 

    I have to admit, for a game that pitted two mostly wretched teams who entered with a combined record of 2-13, tonight's special edition of Dollar Store Monday Night Football was way more entertaining than it should have been. In the end, there was actually a winner (no overtime needed!) when Nick Folk hit a 51-yard field goal as time expired for a dare I say ironically thrilling 30-27 win by the Patriots (3-5 overall, 1-3 away) vs. the Tank for Trevor Lawrence Jets (0-9 overall, 0-5 home). For Pats fans, it served as a painful exercise that showed just how hard it is to win a single game in the NFL, even against the league's worst team. This snapped a four-game losing streak for New England while also extending their win streak vs. New York to nine games. It is the first time in Jets franchise history that they have started a campaign 0-9 and they now have a bye week before their last seven games. PS Week 17 is at Gillette Stadium vs. the Pats. Haha imagine the possibilities for that must-see turd sandwich!

    After failing in all three previous chances this season (at Seattle, vs. Denver and last week in Buffalo) to put together a game-winning drive, Patriots quarterback Cam Newton (27-of-35 for 274 yards; 2 rushing TDs) was finally able to make it happen. Any other opponent would have put this to bed since the Jets led by 10 points not only at halftime (20-10) but also after three quarters (27-17). Luckily for Pats head coach Bill Belichick, Adam Gase somehow is still the Jets head coach and his truly miserable team managed to run four total plays in the final 15 minutes, good for three yards and 1:24 on the clock. Did I mention that Sam Darnold was out with a shoulder injury so former Ravens great and Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco (18-of-25 for 262 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) was left to shred the Pats secondary for most of the night?

    2020 continues to be the scariest and strangest year of our collective lives so naturally we are all here to witness Jakobi Meyers (12 catches, 169 yards on 14 targets) become the promising young wide receiver that New England has lacked for years. On his 24th birthday no less, the former NC State quarterback had his third solid outing in a row culminating in the best performance of his brief NFL career. Damiere Byrd (5 catches, 65 yards on 9 targets) also made some plays in the passing game including a clutch 31-yard catch-and-run which led to Newton's one-yard touchdown run that coupled with Folk's PAT tied it at 27 with 1:57 left in regulation.

    The Patriots' running game was a positive as well with Damien Harris (14 carries, 71 yards) showing some more nice burst before he left late with a chest injury after absorbing a big hit. Rex Burkhead (12 carries, 56 yards, TD) kept finding holes as well when he got the ball. Another former Raven-wide receiver Breshad Perriman (5 catches, 101 yards, 2 TDs on 7 targets)-toyed with J.C. Jackson for much of the evening but thankfully, the Pats cornerback had the last laugh as he picked off Flacco's stupid deep ball that led to Newton's tying touchdown run. He now leads the NFL with five interceptions and in the process, he set a Patriots record by notching a pick in four straight contests. For the first time as a Patriot, Newton was not sacked and Deatrich Wise Jr. (4 tackles, 2 assists) had New England's lone sack which was very timely: on the second play of New York's last drive that turned out to be a 3-and-out which stupidly stopped the clock and saved a timeout for the Pats. 

    Not surprisingly given the halftime score, the Jets led for most of the game before the fourth quarter. Sergio Castillo hit a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter to open the scoring before Newton had a five-yard touchdown run later in the frame. Believe it or not, that was the first touchdown for the Patriots in any first quarter this season. Oof. The second quarter was much more of a Jets affair as Perriman caught a 50-yard bomb against Jackson for a 10-7 lead. Castillo added a 50-yard field goal, answered by Folk's 45-yard kick with 1:03 left in the first half. Going into the break down 13-10 wouldn't have been that awful all things considered (shoutout to NPR) but that wasn't enough of a deficit for the Pats. Nope, instead they allowed a touchdown drive that went 77 yards in two plays. Flacco hit rookie Denzel Mims (4 catches, 62 yards on 8 targets) with a 15-yard pass before Jason McCourty was called for pass interference on Perriman that went for 42 yards. On the next play, Flacco threw his best pass in years as Jamison Crowder used great footwork to drag both feet in the end zone before his momentum took him out of bounds. Initially it was called incomplete but then it was rightfully overturned on replay for a 20-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left in the half. 

    New England got the ball to start the third quarter and they had an awesome drive that took more than half (7:33) of the frame. They went 78 yards in 13 plays culminating in a one-yard touchdown plunge by Burkhead. Unfortunately, New York wasn't fazed by it as they responded with a nearly identical drive of their own (11 plays for 75 yards in 6:57). Their touchdown came on a 15-yard catch by Perriman after Jackson had slipped And-1 Mixtape style (remember those?!). With any sliver of hope for a playoff spot fading away in Tony Soprano Land aka North Jersey, the Patriots finally woke up and outscored the Jets 13-0 in the fourth quarter. All of their points actually came in the final 6:04 of regulation: Folk hit a 29-yard field goal, Newton powered his way in for the one-yard score and then Folk crushed his most important kick in years. 

    Nothing about this victory for New England was easy but needless to say, they will have to play infinitely better on Sunday night (8:20, NBC) to have any chance to begin their first win streak of the season as they host superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Ravens (6-2 overall, 4-0 away) at Gillette Stadium. Miami (5-3) looks like a playoff team and they are two games ahead of the Patriots in the AFC East while the Bills (7-2) are setting the pace with their best start since 1993. I despise cliches but it really is a game-by-game type of focus for the Pats who aren't nearly talented enough to assume anything (for example: witness tonight where they came in as a 9.5-point favorite). Losing always sucks and multiply that during a pandemic where every low seems like it'll never end. Not to get too cheesy but it was refreshing to see the players and coaches on New England look genuinely happy and excited after this win. We all have been dealing with plenty of serious issues more important than football since mid-March but imagine on top of that, everyone in the region and around the country was also dumping on you non-stop for failing at your job. Good times!

Pats Barely Needed Cam Newton As They Blew Out The Raiders 36-20 Behind Rex Burkhead's 3 TDs

 

    I'm not going out on a limb here when I say that the 2020 Patriots (2-1) are not going to win many beauty pageants: there most likely will be many games this season that are clunky and frustrating at times but I'm also willing to bet that they still find different and interesting ways to win more than their fair share of those. This afternoon at Gillette Stadium, they got off to a bumpy start as they were blanked in the first quarter but they steadied themselves enough to take a 13-10 halftime lead before absolutely running over Las Vegas (2-1) in the second half on their way to an impressive 36-20 victory. We all know that the Raiders were a fraud 2-0 team but needless to say, the Patriots have to play much better next Sunday afternoon (4:25, CBS) to have even a slim chance to beat the defending champion Chiefs (2-0 going into tomorrow's Monday Night Football showdown in Baltimore).  

    For the first time in his brief New England tenure, Cam Newton (17-of-28 for 162 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 27 yards rushing) was mediocre but that didn't matter since Rex Burkhead (6 carries, 49 yards, 2 TDs; 7 catches, 49 yards, TD) had the game of his NFL life. It was his first career three touchdown performance as a pro and the Patriots used a punishing ground attack (250 total yards rushing!) to wear down Vegas who played last Monday then had to travel across the country during a pandemic. Fun! Patriots running back James White remains out as he deals with the loss of his father but surprisingly, New England more than made up for his absence thanks to Sony Michel (9 carries, 117 yards-5th career 100+ yard game; 2 catches, 23 yards) showing he deserves to still have a decent role on this team. Undrafted rookie running back J.J. Taylor also got 11 carries and ran for 43 yards because Bill Belichick doesn't give a shit about your silly fantasy football team. 

    When you look at Derek Carr's numbers (24-of-32 for 261 yards, 2 TDs) from this afternoon, you might be fooled into thinking that he had a pretty decent outing. Not quite, he lost two fumbles and he piled up much of those stats in garbage time when the Pats were up 36-13 with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter and they no doubt were starting to look ahead to their matchup with Kansas City. Tight end Darren Waller (2 catches, 9 yards on 4 targets) and running back Josh Jacobs (16 carries, 71 yards, fumble lost; 3 catches, 12 yards) are two bright young stars in the league but the Patriots did a great job of shutting both of those guys down. The only Raiders offensive player who was that consistently effective was their slot receiver Hunter Renfrow (6 catches, 84 yards, TD) who at some point in his life is guaranteed to be a Patriot. 

    The first quarter was straight out of a high school JV football game as the first three possessions resulted in punts then the Raiders drove to the red zone only to see Jacobs fumble at the 12-yard line (caused by former Raider Shilique Calhoun and recovered by J.C. Jackson). Cam returned the favor on the ensuing drive by throwing an awful interception right to Johnathan Abram. Las Vegas couldn't really take advantage of the great field position though as they settled for a 29-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson. 

    With a drive (9 plays, 60 yards, 2:46) that started in the first quarter and extended into the second quarter, New England finally started to find its footing. They also stalled out in the red zone-something that figures to be a major issue all season with no legitimate tight end and no dependable wide receiver outside of Julian Edelman (2 catches, 23 yards on 6 targets) who was invisible after his incredible game vs. Seattle last Sunday night. Nick Folk got them on the scoreboard with a 33-yard field goal then struck for another from 23 yards shortly after that as Chase Winovich caused a Carr fumble and Lawrence Guy recovered it. The Pats put together their best drive (12 plays, 86 yards, 5:04) of the day late in the second quarter that culminated with a screen pass to Burkhead where he juked, spun and crashed his way into an 11-yard touchdown. The Pats defense fell asleep at that point as the Raiders answered with a touchdown of their own in 28 seconds. Stephon Gilmore had a brutal pass interference penalty and two catches by Renfrow got them down to the 1-yard line where Carr threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to backup tight end Foster Moreau. 13-3 Patriots at halftime would have been nice but 13-10 was much harder to swallow. 

    Proving that they are listening to their legendary head coach, New England made some adjustments and played lights out in the second half. Burkhead added a five-yard touchdown run and Folk had a 32-yard field goal in the third quarter as the Pats extended the lead to 23-10. Vegas' red zone failures continued to plague them as Carlson kicked a 25-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to cut it to 23-13. Burkhead put it to bed with a two-yard touchdown run (Folk missed the PAT) then on the next play, Carr fumbled in the end zone and Deatrich Wise Jr. recovered the football for the biggest play of his forgettable Patriots existence. 

    For New England to have any chance to upset the Chiefs, Newton will have to go crazy similar to the way that he did against the Seahawks. Likewise, Edelman will need to ball out along with some big plays by the defense and maybe an unlikely other source or two. Fall is officially here though: the Red Sox' miserable 60-game horrorshow mercifully ended today and the Celtics bricked their way to another Eastern Conference Finals loss (more on that later!) so if you want to watch a local team for the rest of 2020 this is your squad. Sorry Revs, you couldn't matter less to anyone besides the players, the coaches and their families. You can already tell that it's going to be a two team race in the AFC East this season: Buffalo (3-0) stayed perfect with a referee assisted 35-32 win over the Rams (2-1) while the Dolphins (1-2) picked up their first win of the season on Thursday 31-13 at Jacksonville (1-2) and the Jets (0-3) got curb-stomped by the Colts (2-1) 36-7 this afternoon. The Bills are legit, the Pats are good, the Dolphins are going nowhere as always and the Jets might be the worst team in the NFL.

During a Pandemic, You Can Never Have Enough Quality RBs: Enter Lamar Miller to the Patriots

 

    Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has always been ahead of the curve (in many ways) for NFL head coaches and he realized long ago that the days of one workhouse running back is over. Rather, he prefers to load up with a bunch of guys in the backfield with various skill sets and sizes. Therefore, when they inevitably get hurt at some point, others are ready to step in without much of a drop off in terms of production. Shocker, Sony Michel is on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list after offseason foot surgery, Brandon Bolden opted out and training camp starts next Monday so New England needed another warm body. The team hasn't confirmed the move yet but many of the top NFL/Patriots reporters all said yesterday that they hosted free agent Lamar Miller on a visit and quickly signed him to a one-year deal (probably for spare change and a gift card to Toby Keith's Bar and Grill at Patriot Place).

    I was hesitant to write about this move since for all we know, Miller could be the usual (semi) big name veteran that New England brings to camp, only to release them before the regular season has even started. Still, the man has put together a very solid career in the league after being drafted in the fourth round (97th overall) by the Dolphins in 2012. He turned 29 in April and coming off a lost 2019 (after tearing his ACL in the third preseason game, remember those?), hopefully Miller still has a few decent years left in his 5-foot-10, 221-pound frame. 

    Coming into his third year, it's hard to call Michel a complete bust already but other than his great postseason two years ago, can you name any other huge performances that he's had as a Patriot? I thought not. He came into the NFL with injury concerns and so far, he's done nothing to dispel that notion since he always seems to be banged up with knee/leg/foot issues. James White is a perfect change of pace back that is excellent catching the ball but it is clearly diminishing returns when his carries start to pile up. Likewise, Rex Burkhead is basically a poor man's White with a similar injury history to Michel and who knows about Damien Harris after the 2019 third-round pick from Alabama was great in August last year then never seen again in games that meant anything. 

Playing for mostly terrible teams in Miami for four seasons then perennial playoff choke-artist Houston for three seasons, Miller has put together sneaky impressive numbers. Before last season, the fewest regular season games that he missed was just three so Belichick must love that already. He's topped 1000 rushing yards twice (career-best 1099 in 2014 with Miami), came close another year (973) and had two other respectable outputs (872 and 888). He's run for 32 touchdowns including eight in two different seasons with a career average of 4.3 yards per attempt. It appears like he's not one-dimensional either since he has 209 receptions in his career (7.5 yards per catch) as well with highs of 47 catches and 397 receiving yards in 2015 with the Dolphins and three touchdown catches in 2017 with the Texans. 

    Bottom line, you could do a lot worse finding a running back off the scrap heap than Miller. If he's healthy (like Cam Newton, the biggest unknown by far), I would take him in a heartbeat over Michel, Burkhead and Harris. New England will most likely have to rely on running the ball way more than they have in years as they get acclimated to Newton who is not an accurate passer at all-unlike you know who in Tampa Bay-so it is a smart decision to have as many experienced running backs as possible.