The New England Patriots nabbed their first win of the 2025 season on Sunday, but it didn't come without its quirks. Andy Borregales struggled at kicker, veteran Morgan Moses was penalized three times at right tackle, and Pop Douglas continued to start the season off struggling.
More than anything, though, the defense was very disappointing. After scoring just eight points against the Daniel Jones-led Colts in Week 1, Miami scored 27 against New England.
As disappointing as the total points allowed were, how the points were allowed was more disappointing. Mike Vrabel and his coaching staff are prided on their fundamentally sound teams, but we didn't see a lot of that on Sunday. The previously mentioned special teams inconsistencies and flags were upsetting, but the inability to tackle was a major concern.
In fact, Mike Girardi of Boston Sports Journal wrote on Bluesky, "Pats won yesterday despite missing 12 tackles. That's their highest miss-tackle rate since week 4 in 2021 (per Next Gen Stats)". Missing tackles at such a high clip is a primary concern, and for good reason.
The Patriots defense desperately needs to improve their tackling
The 2024 Patriots were solid tacklers. They ranked seventh fewest in missed tackles, five a game. The first-place Colts had nearly ten missed tackles each Sunday. Despite being sound in this respect, the Patriots made additions to their defense, particularly their linebacker corps. Robert Spillane was the marquee addition, but Jack Gibbens was also brought over from Tennessee after a productive '24. Christian Elliss received a new contract, too.
In theory, the Patriots should have the talent to make plays in the tackling game. Unfortunately, we haven't seen the cream rise to the top so far this season. Admittedly, Miami's speed makes them a particularly difficult team to tackle, but that isn't an excuse for their performance.
Captain and new signing Robert Spillane missed a career high of five tackles on Sunday. Before that, he had more than three missed tackles in a game only once in his entire career. His coverage was just as poor, allowing 96 yards.
This needs to be cleaned up. The Patriots have one of the easier schedules and more improved teams in football. Time will tell, but if Drake Maye and company want to make a playoff push, their defense will have to hold strong and be disciplined tacklers.
Without consistency on the defensive side, the team relies on Maye to play perfectly like he did on Sunday, especially considering the cipolar rushing attack we've seen from the team so far. All in all, it goes without saying that it needs to be better moving forward.