The Patriots stink.
On Sunday, they became the first NFL team in 30 years to lose consecutive games where they allowed 10 points or fewer. They scored seven points or fewer for the fourth time this season. And for the fourth time, Bill Belichick benched his starting quarterback.
After the game, Belichick said he believed both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe deserved to play. With only a half apiece, Jones and Zappe managed to gave Belichick reasons to never see the field again this year. It’s that bad right now in Foxboro, home to the NFL’s worst quarterbacks room, offense and team.
Again, the Patriots stink.
Here’s what else the film revealed about Sunday’s loss:
Accurate throw percentage: 61.9%
Under pressure: 1-of-4 for 5 yards, 2 INTs, sack
Against the blitz: 6-of-13 for 51 yards, 2 INTs, sack
Behind the line: 6-of-6 for 37 yards
0-9 yards downfield: 6-of-11 for 52 yards, INT
10-19 yards downfield: 0-of-3, INT
20+ yards downfield: 0-of-1
Notes: He’s broken. Simple as that.
Bill O’Brien tried to build Jones back up with simple play-action passes early in the game against a Giants defense expecting run. O’Brien called play-action on half of the Pats’ first six first-down snaps. On those throws, Jones hit a 19-yard wide receiver screen, a checkdown, an invisible target miles over Mike Gesicki’s head, then … rock bottom.
Once the Giants cracked the backfield, they cracked him. Jones repeatedly folded against pressure, risking a turnover on 60% of plays where he felt some heat. Pressure triggered all of his worst plays.
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Jones fired his first interception into triple coverage, then fell away and lofted a duck at two Giants defenders inside the red zone for his second pick; another panic move that likely took points off the board. Jones' final error (and snap) was a strip-sack the Patriots recovered.
Jones finished with his third-lowest accurate throw rate of the season at 61.9%, despite also posting his third-shortest average depth of target at 5.2 yards downfield. O'Brien baked minimal risk into the game plan, and his quarterback unearthed it anyway. That's the story of his season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jones has almost triple the number of turnover-worthy plays (23) as he does throwaways (8). His 12 picks rank second in the league. He leads all active starting quarterbacks in interception percentage and may have taken his last snap for the Patriots.
Accurate throw percentage: 76.9%
Under pressure: 3-of-3 for 17 yards, sack
Against the blitz: 7-of-7 for 44 yards
Behind the line: 5-of-6 for 31 yards
0-9 yards downfield: 4-of-5 for 23 yards
10-19 yards downfield: 0-of-2, INT
20+ yards downfield: N/A
Notes: He ain't it, either.
O'Brien didn't even do Zappe the courtesy of manufacturing easy downfield throws. He took the ball out of Zappe's hands.
The Patriots pivoted to a 75% run rate on first down once Zappe took over. O'Brien hardly let Zappe throw long on any down, even while driving for a possible game-winning touchdown in the final minute. O'Brien called a jet sweep to Tyquan Thrornton on third-and-8, the Pats' final offensive snap, instead of asking his quarterback to, you know, play quarterback.
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More than half Zappe's completions were screens. As noted by NESN's Zack Cox, Zappe's nine completions totaled minus-4 air yards, meaning they covered more distance behind the line of scrimmage than they did downfield. To his credit, Zappe handled pressure much better than Jones, but he also repeatedly stared down his receivers.
Zappe's fourth-quarter interception in Giants territory, which led to the eventual game-winning field goal, was the most egregious example of this. He is unfit to start in the NFL, proving in the league's most depressing quarterback battle there are simply no winners.
The Patriots' best defensive player for six weeks running. Barmore tallied three pressures and a pass breakup.
His best performance as an NFL pass rusher. Jennings has quietly stepped up, while Josh Uche continues to fade into the background of this defense.
He's become a turnover machine without an off switch.
The coaching staff showed little faith in him with its play-calling, and Zappe failed to show that he deserves more.
Two offensive snaps, one drop. He's become a core special teamer for a reason.
He became a favorite target of DeVito's, and allowed three catches for first downs.
Statistics for passing depth, pass protection, pressures, broken tackles and missed tackles courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
*Explosive plays are defined as runs of 12-plus yards and passes of 20-plus yards. Explosive play rate is one of the most strongly correlated metrics with wins and losses.
**Success rate is an efficiency metric measuring how often an offense stays on schedule. A play is successful when it gains at least 40% of yards-to-go on first down, 60% of yards-to-go on second down and 100% of yards-to-go on third or fourth down.
***11 personnel = one running back, one tight end; 12 personnel = one running back, two tight ends; 13 personnel = one running back, three tight ends.
****Nickel defense = five defensive backs; dime defense = six defensive backs.