The 4 biggest mistakes that doomed the Patriots in 2022

The 4 biggest mistakes that doomed the Patriots in 2022

2. Making Joe Judge the quarterback’s coach

After the Matt Patricia debacle, more personnel decisions Belichick made were questioned when Joe Judge was hired after he, too, was let go from head coaching duties in New York.

Despite his previous experience with the Patriots, working in multiple roles with special teams from the 2012 season through 2020, moving him to quarterbacks coach seemed like a dumpster fire in the making. And inevitably, that’s exactly how it panned out.

Mac Jones was coming off an impressive rookie season, and with the reported intense work he had been doing throughout the offseason, it was assumed he would have quite a second-year jump. Unfortunately, that feeling was lost during training camp and preseason, as the offense looked disjointed and confused, unable to make anything successful happen on the field in practice.

Much of that can be blamed on the alleged dramatically altered and simplified playbook, but Jones didn’t look much better as the season progressed. He flashed randomly in games, like against the Vikings and in the comeback effort against the Bengals, but it was clear there were issues behind closed doors in Foxboro.

Then early in the offseason, a bombshell report from The Boston Herald was published, revealing the inner struggles between coaches and the offense, particularly with Jones and Judge. It was said the two would often get into “profanity-laced outbursts,” and it was apparent to all that the quarterback did not trust nor like Judge’s coaching or behavior in meetings.

Their relationship likely impacted Jones’ performance throughout the season, along with the universal struggles with Patricia.

But things appear to be moving in the right direction, as Judge is getting a new role for next season. What that will be exactly is yet to be seen, but it’s clear it won’t be working with the quarterbacks any longer.