Nitpicks & Nitwits: Patriots Earn First Win Of Mac Jones Era

It was a signature moment, coming at the end of a signature play.

Damien Harris clearly showed his determination to get into the end zone on a 26-yard yard in the third quarter Sunday.  It was the kind of run where you could hear the late, great John Facenda of NFL Films fame intoning, “it was a run by a man who found, in the sport, a demanding measure for his own courage and ability.”

Cue the orchestra.

And certainly, while Harris earned a measure of redemption on the tackle-breaking ramble after leaving the ball on the Gillette Stadium carpet at a most inopportune moment last week…he had help along the way.

Did you catch Mac Jones giving him a ‘pile-up’ push into the end zone?

“Yeah, I think we wanted to score, everybody was down there pushing, and my job is to make sure nothing bad happens and try to be by the ball, but maybe I should just stay back,” Jones explained after the game.

Jones also helped spring Kendrick Bourne free on a 16-yard end run in the 3rd, laying out a block (sort of) along the way.  Gutsy plays, albeit from a rookie QB who might not (yet) know better, helping to make certain his team ultimately succeeds.

“I appreciate it, but I hope he never does it again,” was Harris’ reaction to the end zone assist.  “We need him.”

You sure do, Damien.  And your point is well-taken.  But Jones’ extra-curricular activity is definitely a positive sign, even if unadvised, that your quarterback is willing to do Whatever It Takes.  Just like you were on that run.

Signature moments don’t happen every week.  But when they do, we tend to notice.

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DOWN IN FRONT

Yikes.  What was certainly thought to be a team strength going into the season, the offensive line has been…well…close to offensive.

“I think we’re alright here, we’ve got three players that have played and they’ve all done some good things,” Bill Belichick told the media Monday morning.  “We know Trent can do a good job there…we’ve had some breakdowns at all spots offensively and lacked some consistency.  We just don’t have enough results points wise that we feel we should have.  It’s a team thing.”

And it’s a team thing that will be continually exploited by the opposition from this point forward, unless the team figures out a way to 1) get Trent Brown back from injury, 2) scheme around the obvious troubles at right tackle, or 3) hold open tryouts.

Yasir Durant and Justin Herron have been playing a game of ‘hot potato’ with that tackle spot.  Might be nice to figure out a way to keep your rookie QB a bit more protected, so he isn’t always having to avoid an onslaught.

NOT SEEING RED

The official stats say the Patriots were one-for-three in the Red Zone Sunday.  Coupled with a one-for-four performance in the opener against Miami, that puts the Patriots batting two-for-seven…or .286…at the plate when it comes to delivering touchdowns.

Not exactly awe-inspiring or hall-of-fame numbers.  That’s 31st out of 32 teams in the NFL, in TD percentage.

It’s only two weeks, sure.  Maybe it’s time for the training wheels on Mac Jones to be loosened a little bit here?  Yeah, he’ll wobble along the way.

But you can’t hit the ball if you don’t swing at it.  Or something like that.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

The stats say 25-6.  Four interceptions and four sacks of Zach Wilson.  Kept the J-E-T-S out of the end zone, whether it was their own fault or not.

But another perceived strength of this team before the season started was up front, among the defensive line and linebacking corps.  And while it’s clear a Belichick-coached defense still holds some mastery over rookie QB’s, the Pats have had difficulties in stopping the run.

With 152 rushing yards allowed to the Jets, the Patriots are a mere 14th in rush defense through two weeks.  Part of it is scheme, part of it is game plan.

But if this trend continues, part of it will soon be…needing to make a stop, and you can’t.

AS FOR THE NITWITS…

1. The J-E-T-S.  0-11 to New England, tied for the current longest losing streak to one team in the NFL.  The fans were booing their rookie, #2 pick QB (or was it the play-calling?) after three quarters against the Pats at home.
2. The Seahawks, who forgot how to play defense in the 4th quarter against Tennessee, had 10 penalties for 100 yards and lost at home in overtime.
3. The Chargers had two TD’s called back, a missed field goal and 12 flags for 99 penalty yards in a last-second, three-point loss at home to the Cowboys.  The ingredients needed to cook up a self-inflicted defeat.