The New England Patriots followed up a Week 2 offensive explosion with an incredibly disappointing offensive display against the Steelers. Five turnovers from the offense were the most since a six-turnover performance in 2000 against the Jets.
Four of those were fumbles, two coming from Rhamondre Stevenson, who led the league in fumbles last year. The Steelers turned the ball over via an interception thrown to Robert Spillane, but also had two fumbles that the Patriots were unable to pounce on.
Turnovers were no doubt the issue, but it would be ignorant to say the Patriots played a great game aside from them. Drake Maye had a nice connection with his tight ends, Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper, as the pair combined for ten catches, 118 yards, and two touchdowns, with Henry accounting for the bulk of the production. Aside from the tight end, no player had more than 38 receiving yards.
While the team made changes to the wide receiver position, they are no doubt in need of additional options. Stefon Diggs has been average, Kayshon Boutte has been inconsistent, and Pop Douglas's juke back to ensure a Steelers win was the icing on the cake of his 13-yard season thus far.
The Patriots have a rookie who needs to get a chance before the season is a total loss.
Kyle Williams could be the answer for the Patriots offensive woes
A third-round pick in this past draft, Williams had an exceptional college career. He spent three seasons at UNLV before transferring to Washington State, where he had over 2,000 yards in his final two years. He also had 20 touchdowns in that time.
Williams' hands have been labeled as questionable, but there's no doubt about his route running and timed speed. At the combine, he ran a 4.4 flat: only ten receivers ran faster. The Patriots have struggled to find a deep threat this year. Kayshon Boutte has been serviceable, but with teams gravitating towards him as the team's WR1 through three weeks, his production has slowed from his 103-yard performance in Week 1.
Now that Pop Douglas has proven ineffective in the slot and Diggs is a role player at this point in his career, Kyle Williams needs to get a chance. He hasn't played much: just 10% of snaps in Week 1 and 17% in Week 2. His production hasn't been much different: two catches for 20 yards.
As limited as that is, it's more production than Douglas has had this season through much higher snap counts.
Finding a way to better utilize Kyle Williams in an offense that has failed to score more than 14 points in a single game this season should be a priority. Finding ways to involve Williams and UDFA Efton Chism III should be on Josh McDaniels's agenda this week, and I wouldn't be surprised if you see one or both of them have the opportunity to play against the Panthers in Week 4.