Offensive issues too plentiful to count and other leftover Patriots thoughts

BOSTON -- Do you know what's funny?

Despite everything -- despite the most miserable first half put forth by a Bill Belichick team in Gillette Stadium's history, despite the penalties, despite the punter dropping the football, despite the overall offensive ineptitude, and the penalties, and everything else -- I genuinely thought there was no way they lose this one. 

Inside the two-minute warning, trailing by four points, the Patriots had a first-and-10 from the 16-yard line. Obviously, they've had massive issues in the red zone all year. But given the way everything had gone in the second half for this team, this felt like it was going to be a throwback afternoon, a vintage Patriots win where they won after quite literally everyone in the world had counted them out. Those don't come around too often anymore, but here one was, staring them right in the face.

But then this ball was determined on replay to have been down at the 6.5-yard line, instead of the 6-yard line ...

... which was a bit of a head-scratcher.

So instead of first-and-goal at the 6, it was third-and-a-half from the 6.5. Whether that threw off their rhythm or plan or whatever can't be known for sure, but two plays later, this happened:

And that was kind of that. The Patriots did get the ball back, but it was all the way back at their own 24-yard line, thanks in part to Mac Jones tackling B.J. Hill long after the fumble had been recovered, drawing a 15-yard penalty in the process.

And from there, some typical 2022 Patriots business happened. After a third-and-10 incompletion, the Patriots got to the line with about 12 seconds left on the play clock. Mac Jones gave some signals, but he wasn't able to get the snap away in time. After the delay of game penalty, Jones was seen yelling at the sideline looking for direction. The fourth-and-15 prayer to Tyquan Thornton fell incomplete, but even if it had worked, it wouldn't have counted, because David Andrews took off up the field on the snap.

Typical.

And some idiots thought they'd actually win this one. Shame on them.

Anyways. The Patriots lost. The score was 22-18. Here are some leftover thoughts. I'll try to be as brief as possible, considering, you know, holiday delay, another brutal loss, etc., etc. 

--A quick high-five to everyone who attended that game and stayed until the end. Those fans deserved to see a Patriots win, giving up their Christmas Eve to sit in frigid temperatures and sticking it out through that miserable first half. At least traffic was probably lightened by the time they did depart the stadium following the game.

All things considered, that's not a bad showing. Too bad for those fans.

--The Patriots have been involved in some suspect reviews this season, but they sure did benefit from a couple on Saturday. 

You mean to tell me that this is ruled a catch if the Patriots aren't trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter?

And we're certain that Mac didn't go full Palardy on this one before nudging the ball forward?

The NFL is obsessed with close games and comebacks. Every week they send out press releases bragging about all of the lead changes, the comebacks, the one-possession games -- they see such things as evidence of a successful league. For a league that has always sought parity above all else, it's not surprising.

So when I see reviews go a certain way in certain situations -- and it happens a lot -- I have to wonder if there's just some more incentive for Walt Anderson and his people to lean toward whatever favors the team attempting a comeback. Or maybe they just close their eyes and guess. One or the other.

--I can't believe this one:

--The offensive issues are too plentiful to itemize. It's out of control. Hunter Henry got injured because he and Jonnu Smith ran into each other. Jonnu Smith got injured because he and Kendrick Bourne ran routes to the same exact spot on the field. Mac Jones tried to throw a wide receiver screen on a third down, only for zero wide receivers to be looking for the ball. Everyone ran deep on a third-and-4, and another pass was completed well short of the sticks on a third-and-6; both led to punts. Trent Brown and Kevin Harris blocked ghosts on the left side while an untouched blitzing DB came off the right side. The deep shots are, by and large, close-your-eyes-and-hope-it-works-out kind of plays. (One required Kendrick Bourne to make an incredible pass breakup in this one.) Rhamondre Stevenson, obviously, fumbled on first-and-goal from the 5-yard line.

I still go back to Bill Belichick a few weeks ago saying it's "too hard" to make dramatic changes to the offensive coaching staff and the play-calling operation. It looked bad in the moment, and in retrospect, it looks like a white flag. This team is taking the field each week with one hand tied behind its back.

--At least the team has Marcus Jones, though.

Because of those offensive woes, the Patriots really aren't good enough to win many games unless they get some points from defense or special teams. The rookie has now given them two of those, plus that electric touchdown on offense vs. the Bills.

He's also been covering some top-flight receivers, and doing a very good job with it -- jump balls to Tee Higgins notwithstanding. 

In this one, his pick-six came when he was able to keep his eyes on the quarterback and make a play, showing the same level of comfort that allowed him to look past DeAndre Hopkins to get his pick in Arizona a couple of weeks ago.

Not a ton of highlights in this game or in this season, but Marcus Jones remains the bright spot.

--Kendrick Bourne showed that yes, he can actually be a major contributor to the football team when the football coaches allow him to participate in the football plays. Bourne was targeted a season-high nine times. His previous high was just five. He caught six passes (season high) for 100 yards (career high) and a touchdown. He also broke off a 29-yard run, while taking 57 percent of the offensive snaps. 

So, Bill Belichick, why has Bourne not been involved with the offense all year?

"No particular reason."

Oh. OK. Got it!

--Matthew Judon had a sack taken away due to a penalty on Josh Uche (officials missed the blatant hold that Judon was working through), but he did make a game-changing play for the second time in three weeks.

In Arizona, he came up with a run stuff on a third-and-1, helping force a turnover on downs. This time, he came up with a forced fumble to put the Patriots in a position where they really should've scored the go-ahead touchdown in the game's final minutes.

Judon also had a sack that did count, but that forced fumble on Ja'Marr Chase was a big-time play. We'd probably regard it with some more esteem if the offense had done its job.

--This little moment made me chuckle.

Just imagine if you were watching the game with somebody who had never seen American football before. "So you just ask for a penalty, and they call it?" I don't know. Maybe chuckle-worthy. Maybe not. But it's MY story.

--Some people might have had a gripe on the Stevenson fumble, as his forward progress had clearly been stopped. Surely, a whistle could have blown, but I wouldn't say the officials were late on their whistles with that one. Just a sports moment where the Bengals made a sports play.

And, likely because he's their entire offense, Stevenson is not in Bill Belichick's doghouse, despite the fumble (which came one week after Stevenson kick-started the lateral play in Vegas).

"Yeah, I'm not going to second guess Rhamondre on what he did," Belichick said Monday morning.

--It's kind of difficult to sum up the day for the Patriots' defense. Do you praise them for the legitimate dominance in the second half? Or do you bemoan the way they were utterly dominated in the first half?

The Bengals had five drives in the first half. Three went for touchdowns, one ended in a field goal, and one ended with an interception. Cincinnati gained 303 yards on 49 plays, for an average of 6.2 yards per play. It was chaos.

In the second half, the Bengals ran six real drives. They punted three times, threw a pick, missed a field goal, and coughed up a fumble. They gained just 140 yards on 30 plays, an average of 4.7 yards per play.

From afar, it looked more like the Bengals might have taken things for granted at halftime and let some sloppy play seep into their game in the second half. Still, that kind of showing by the defense just serves as a sort of painful reminder of the potential that this team would have if only it had a functional offense.

--Speaking of which, after going 6-for-13 on third down, 0-for-1 on fourth down, 1-for-2 in the red zone and 1-for-2 on goal-to-go scenarios, the Patriots rank:

• 27th in third-down offense
• 31st in fourth-down offense
• 32nd in red-zone offense
• 30th in goal-to-go offense

They're facing a vulnerable Dolphins defense next week, a unit that ranks 25th in third-down stops and 24th in red-zone stops. So maybe the number ultimately ticks up a bit by year's end. But also ... maybe it doesn't. Quality of opponent -- or lack thereof -- hasn't really helped the Patriots' offense this year.

--As for that Miami game ... well, honestly, who knows? Miami has turned an 8-3 season into an 8-7 season in short order. Tua Tagovailoa looks bad. Like, bad bad. They're sure to be entering Foxboro with a lot of doubt in their own minds about what kind of team they are. It's not quite the same as coming off back-to-back losses on a last-minute fumble and an ill-conceived double lateral/turnover play, but it's still not good.

So, hey, maybe the Patriots win that game. After witnessing Mac Jones convert a third-and-29 for a touchdown thanks to a deflection off a Patriots player I had never once heard of, I'm stepping away from the business of prognostication. It's a fool's game.

I just think regardless of the outcome of the Miami game, the Christmas Eve loss just served as another gut punch to a team and a fan base that has been forced to endure a real grind of a football season. There's still time for something to be salvaged. There's just little reason to believe much will be.

--Anyways.

See you next week.

You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.