New England Patriots WR Julian Edelman shredding Jamal Adams for a career high in yardage deserves more praise.
Even the most ardently disappointed Patriots fan has to acknowledge that, for a loss, Sunday night’s affair in Seattle went pretty well.
Sure, Russell Wilson had his way with a Pats secondary that allowed the same number of WR touchdowns in Week 2 as they allowed during the 2019 season. And yes, perhaps the team should’ve been a bit more creative at the goal line as time expired in retrospect (but be honest, you didn’t hate the play until it failed).
But Cam Newton nearly threw for a career high in yardage, they were alive as long as he had the ball in his hand, and the season will only get easier after this marquee matchup. It’s also worth pointing out that, while Jamal Adams stole all the headlines during and after the game, New England made their old friend look downright pedestrian every time he was forced to drop back in coverage instead of smacking people around at the line of scrimmage.
And, routinely, Julian Edelman — on one leg! — embarrassed Adams deep down field, which we can certainly get behind.
When Jamal Adams has been the nearest defender to the targeted receiver, the Patriots are 6-6 for 157 yards, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) September 21, 2020
Yes, despite the flashy plays that Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels couldn’t help but fawn over, Adams was actually destroyed in coverage to the point where he had zero successes, and many failures!
He was a huge part of the flawed game plan that led to Edelman setting his career high in receiving yards, despite hobbling around the field for large portions of the game.
The casual NFL fan was likely dumbfounded to see the diminutive Edelman streak down the field repeatedly, doing much more than just getting open in space underneath.
But nope, there he was, repeatedly getting past Adams for massive gains, without which the Patriots would’ve been unable to keep the game so close. This well-timed 49-yard gain was outright glorious. We can’t forget this.
CAM TO EDELMAN FOR 49 YARDS! #GoPats
— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2020
📺: #NEvsSEA on NBC
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/D3Z0XewhrI pic.twitter.com/6pmI1XdnUV
Edelman, a mainstay on the injury report over the past … year or so, looked either deeply pained or perfect on Sunday. There was no in-between.
And every time he made the trade-demanding Adams look like burnt toast, an angel got its wings.
Patriots: Cam Newton’s Instagram Response to Contract Criticism Should Terrify Rest of NFL
New England Patriots QB Cam Newton responded to everyone who's been saying Bill Belichick took advantage and signed him for well below his worth.