Kendrick Bourne critical of Patriots' third-down play-calling

Kendrick Bourne. Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne critical of team's third-down play-calling

By Cory Woodroof | Last updated 12/2/22

New England Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne called out his team's third-down play-calling after its 24-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night.

Do the #Patriots need to play different on 3rd down?

Kendrick Bourne: “Yeah, man, we need to scheme up better. We need to know what they’re doing. We need to know what they wanna do on third down. … They call this, and we call that, and it falls right into what they want.”
— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) December 2, 2022

Bourne's comments don't reflect well on Patriots offensive play-caller Matt Patricia.

Patricia took on a big task after former New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left for the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2022 offseason.

The career defensive mind flipped his coaching to the other side of the ball, and it's not paid off as hoped for New England.

Per ESPN, the Patriots are 25th in the NFL for average yards per game with 318.9, and 20th in the league for average points per game with 20.8. Second-year quarterback Mac Jones has struggled after a promising rookie season.

However, Bourne led in his comments that he feels the players deserve the brunt of the criticism for how the team played on Thursday.

#Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne mostly held players accountable for issues on offense tonight.

“I think it’s more players. The coaches can only do so much. So, we’ve got to make the plays and get open. We’ve got to give Mac time.

He did say this about third-down issues, however: pic.twitter.com/vqjioh4DMN
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) December 2, 2022