3 Patriots to blame for avoidable loss to the Seahawks in Week 2

Expectations were high for the Patriots as they welcomed the Seahawks to Gillette Stadium for their first home game of the 2024 season, mainly because of their shocking win over the Bengals last week. For a team projected to win no more than three games this season, opening the year with a solid win over a perennial Super Bowl contender was quite the way to kick off the Jerod Mayo era.

It prompted analysts and fans to have higher hopes that they could replicate that same success against Seattle in Week 2, even more so upon seeing the star power that would be missing the game on the opponents' side.

The task didn't look too big at the start of the game, as rookie Ja'Lynn Polk recorded the first touchdown to put the Patriots ahead. But the Seahawks matched that on their next drive with a long touchdown pass to D.K. Metcalf, which quieted the stadium immediately.

The rest of the game remained close despite the Patriots' apparent mistakes and shortcomings. It ultimately came down to overtime after the Seahawks tied the game up in the final seconds of regulation.

Those mistakes and questionable decisions secured an avoidable loss for New England, and there is a lot of blame to go around. Unfortunately, a few players (and coaches) will likely share the fault as they prepare for the Jets on a short week.

3 Patriots to blame for avoidable loss to the Seahawks in Week 2

QB Jacoby Brissett/offensive play calling

Perhaps the biggest concern surrounding Jacoby Brissett's being named the starter for the Patriots 2024 season was his ability to throw a deep ball and keep the chains moving. This is a strength of rookie Drake Maye's game, which was seen during the preseason, leading many to believe he should be the one under center.

However, given the offensive line's obvious inconsistencies, Brissett was named the starter. In Week 1, his lack of arm strength wasn't a noticeable issue, as the game plan relied upon Rhamondre Stevenson running the ball for all four quarters.

The assumption was that similar play-calling would occur against the Seahawks on Sunday, which did become their biggest window of success as the game continued. But it was clear early on that the Patriots' offense needed to utilize the passing game much more.

That led to Hunter Henry's career-best day of eight receptions for 109 yards, yet the rest of the pass catchers, specifically the wide receivers, totaled a measly three receptions for 19 yards for the entire game. Even worse, the team's best receiver, DeMario Douglas, wasn't targeted at all, which Brissett and Mayo had to address after the game.

Although they only lost by a field goal late in overtime, the offense's inability to make big plays from Brissett throwing the ball deep will be why the Patriots lose games the rest of the season.

S Kyle Dugger/CB Christian Gonzalez

Since being drafted in 2020, Kyle Dugger has been one of the most talented players on the Patriots' defense. Therefore, it's odd to see him on a list discussing the worst moments of a game since he is typically one of the best ones on the field.

The same could be said about Christian Gonzalez, who had another impressive showing in the Patriots' first home game of the year.

Maybe it's being nitpicky to suggest they are to blame for the Week 2 loss, but the miscommunication that set up a 56-yard receiving touchdown for D.K. Metcalf after the defense forced a three-and-out on the Seahawks' first drive of the game was a devastating blow.

Had that score not happened, it's possible that would've been the opposing offense's fate again, meaning they would have at least seven fewer points, and the game wouldn't have had to go to overtime.

Clearly, this is all hypothetical, but based on how the rest of the game went, with the only other Seahawks touchdown coming from running back Zach Charbonnet on the ground, it doesn't seem like a stretch to assume another receiver wouldn't have gotten into the end zone through a dominant Patriots defense.

The offensive line

After a decently surprising performance against the Bengals last week, a game in which the offensive line allowed just four hits on Brissett, they followed it up with a disastrous showing on Sunday afternoon, even if the box score doesn't make it look that way.

The stat sheet will say that Brissett was sacked three times for a loss of 24 yards, but he was hit eight times and brought down hard nearly every time, some of which resulted in the quarterback wincing in pain as he got upright.

Besides the linemen being beaten, which resulted in big hits, when they were able to hold defenders off, it wasn't nearly long enough for Brissett to do much of anything too far down the field. Some of that blame is (obviously) on him and the play calling, but it's also on the lineman for not adequately keeping pass rushers at bay.

It's another part of the game that the Patriots need to improve as soon as possible, or they will continue to deal with all that comes from a weak offensive line.

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