6 Frustrations from Patriots loss to Jets

Patriots: 6 Frustrations from loss to Jets

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve had an entire day to stew about the New England Patriots’ loss to the New York Jets. Here are six things that frustrated Patriots fans the most on Sunday afternoon:

6. Rare miscommunication between Brady and Gronk

Tom Brady through his seventh interception of the season, and it was clearly the product of miscommunication with Rob Gronkowski. It appeared that Brady expected Gronk to recognize something he saw in the Jets’ coverage, but instead Gronk stuck with the original post pattern.

Darrelle Revis was the beneficiary of the miscue, notching his fifth interception of the year. That’s the most in one season for Revis since 2011. The Jets rank fifth having picked off 18 passes, so it’s to be expected that any miscommunication on the part of Brady and his receivers could have resulted in a turnover, and sure enough, it did.

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Here’s the thing, though: interceptions happen. That Brady has only committed seven in 15 games is impressive, considering that only Alex Smith of the Chiefs has thrown less (five).

Next: 5. Overtime defense

Jim O’Connor-USA TODAY Sports

5. Overtime defense

This writer actually was a fan of Bill Belichick electing to kick in overtime. He was confident that his defense would force the Jets into a three-and-out, which would have happened if not for a ticky-tacky pass interference penalty on Malcolm Butler on third down. A punt from that region would have put Brady and the offense in desirable starting position.

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That yellow flag took the wind out of the sails on defense. Soon to follow was Quincy Enunwa’s 48-yard catch and run, which was the result of a terrible angle taken by backup safety Tavon Wilson. McCourty had better be good to go by playoff time, as the Patriots’ secondary needs him badly.

After Enunwa’s play, it was over. The defense was dispirited, and it was not a surprise when Eric Decker sliced his way diagonally across the secondary for the winning touchdown catch.

Next: 4. Shaky offensive line play

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4. Shaky offensive line play

The Patriots’ offensive line has played better games than they did in Week 16, let’s just put it that way. Not surprisingly, the injury bug that refuses to leave Foxboro contributed to the off-day for the boys up front.

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When Sebastian Vollmer left the game with an apparent high ankle sprain on the Patriots’ first offensive drive, recently acquired LaAdrian Waddle got his shot at left guard, Brady’s blind spot. Later in the afternoon, Waddle left with a shoulder injury, which forced little-used depth tackle Cameron Fleming into the most important position on the offensive line.

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It could have been worse, but there were a number of times in which Brady abandoned the play immediately after snapping the ball because the heat was bearing down on him so quickly. Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson caught fire as the game went on, and it was clear that the Jets’ front seven was overpowering the Pats.

Next: 3. Coverage of Brandon Marshall

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

3. Coverage of Brandon Marshall

Normally, the Patriots’ strategy of covering the No. 1 receiver with Logan Ryan and safety help works out pretty well. Malcolm Butler owns his matchup against the No. 2, and the No. 1 guy has a tough time in the double team.

We saw first hand in Week 16 that Devin McCourty is the crucial cog in that approach. McCourty and Ryan blanket most No. 1 receivers, but Duron Harmon just isn’t the caliber of safety.

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Marshall enjoyed an afternoon of eight catches for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The latter of those scores was as much an error on the part of Harmon as it was a nice play by Marshall. Had McCourty been in the game, you can bet that he would have snuffed it out.

Ryan has bene a serviceable No. 2 corner this year because of the McCourty safety blanket. Without D-Mac patrolling the back end, the Patriots’ secondary borders on mediocrity.

Next: Third down play

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2. Third down play

It’s not surprising that the Patriots lost in Week 16. They simply weren’t good enough on the most important sector of the game, third down.

The Patriots converted only one of their ten attempts on third down, good for a success rate of just 10 percent. Meanwhile, the Jets were successful on 38 percent of their third down tries. That’s still not a great success rate, but significantly better than the Patriots.

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In total, the Patriots moved the sticks just 16 times, and the Jets registered 24 first downs. The Patriots just weren’t clicking in short-yardage situations on offense like the normally do. Without Danny Amendola and/or Julian Edelman in the lineup Brady, didn’t have a trusted slant route receiver at his disposal.

Further evidence of the Patriots’ struggles on third down was their time possession of just 28 minutes and 33 seconds. This was due to…

Next: 1. Lack of explosion on offense

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

1. Lack of explosion on offense

Perhaps the most frustrating thing from the loss on Sunday was the yawn-inducing performance on offense. The longest passing play of the day was Gronk’s 30-yard catch, and the longest running play was a 13-yard slice by Brandon Bolden.

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The lack of a potent run game allowed the Jets to allocate more attention and resources toward pressuring Brady. That translated into weaker, less accurate throws from No. 12, and routes downfield were rarely open.

The missing key in the Patriots’ passing game was the absence of an underneath receiver. Without Amendola or Edelman in the game, Brady’s favorite region to throw the ball when under pressure isn’t available. Brandon LaFell and Keshawn Martin can’t fill that role.

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To lighten the mood, be sure to check out four positives from the loss in Week 16.