Patriots: Is Kendrick Bourne now in Bill Belichick’s dog house?

It wasn’t all pretty, but the New England Patriots picked up a huge road win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. The victory brings them back to .500 at 4-4 and they’re now right in the thick of a crowded AFC playoff picture.

Despite the win, Bill Belichick will likely harp on the negatives from the game while he’s reviewing film with his players. He might need to look himself in the mirror for that blown challenge in the fourth quarter, but we digress.

Though the Patriots walked out of Los Angeles with a W, there wasn’t a lot to feel great about from an offensive perspective.

Mac Jones had a rough day in the pocket, completing 51.4% of his passes for just 218 yards with zero touchdowns.

A big reason why the rookie didn’t throw a TD was Kendrick Bourne, who dropped a surefire score in the first half.

Speaking of Bourne, it was a rough day for the young receiver, who added insult to injury by losing a fumble in the third quarter. He didn’t see the field after that, which begs the question of whether he’s in Belichick’s dog house.

Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne might be in Bill Belichick’s dog house.

Yikes. Bourne likely has some work to do before he can regain Belichick’s trust. It just goes to show that, regardless of your recent production — Bourne led the team in receiving (323 yards) over the previous five games — if you cough up the football in a tightly-contested game AND cost the team a touchdown, you will get benched.

We’ve seen it with Damien Harris, the entire backfield, and Jonnu Smith, who inked a  $50 million contract with the Patriots in the offseason.

Hopefully Bourne’s benching serves as a lesson to the rest of the WR corps, because he logged his lowest snap share of the season on Sunday.

It was a bold move from Belichick to bench arguably his most consistent pass-catcher, but it panned out. Nelson Agholor had a nice day at the office and N’Keal Harry stepped up with two catches for 30 yards after Bourne departed. Jakobi Meyers had a number of big grabs, too.

It remains to be seen if Bourne’s “punishment” will extend into Week 9 against Carolina, but it’s clear Belichick wanted to send a message to the 26-year-old. Lapses of concentration and putting the ball on the ground are frowned upon when games are on the line.

This no-nonsense style of coaching has worked for the last 20 years, and we assume Bourne will be better for it down the road.

Patriots’ final drive to seal win over Chargers showed incredible maturation

The New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in an impressive display on both offense and defense. Gotta give credit where it's due.