Patriots’ offense shows life in tough loss on Thanksgiving
The New England Patriots fell to the Minnesota Vikings on Thanksgiving day, but their offense showed a ton of life, so all is not lost. If there was ever such a thing as a good loss in the NFL, the Patriots just had one on Thanksgiving.
They went blow for blow with the now 9-2 Minnesota Vikings, a team that has all but locked up a top two seed and division title in the NFC. It was a near must-win for New England, but even while their offense put up 26 points, the defense could not limit Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson, and the rest of the Vikings’ offensive cast.
The teams went into halftime tied at 16, and New England went into the fourth quarter with a lead, but they weren’t able to close it out. Overall, though, it was a very promising game for the offense and especially Mac Jones who threw for nearly 400 yards and was incredibly accurate with his passes.
On the night, Mac Jones went 28/39 for 382 yards and two touchdowns. The run game didn’t have much of an impact for either team. Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 36 yards and Damien Harris added 16 on five carries.
In the receiving game, though, the Patriots’ deep cast of weapons showed some life, as five players had at least 62 receiving yards. DeVante Parker led the way with 80 yards on four catches. Stevenson, Nelson Agholor, Hunter Henry, and Jakobi Meyers all added at least 62 yards of their own.
Agholor and Henry each caught a touchdown pass, and Kendrick Bourne had 36 yards on three catches. Jon Jones notched yet another interception for the secondary which has had a nice season overall.
The defense only mustered one sack, which was likely a huge aspect of them giving up 33 points. Nick Folk went 4/4 and continues his insane tear as a Patriot. On the downside, the Patriots lost the time of possession battle by about 13 minutes and committed double the penalties that Minnesota did. They also weren’t as good on third down, did not convert their lone fourth down attempt, and ran 11 less plays on offense.
They also had six less first downs. This was not a bad loss by any means for New England. Their offense showed some spark, but the defense essentially let the team down on Thanksgiving.