Jonnu Smith was a major focal point of the early game plan.Įver since his rash of drops and bad plays against the Saints, it felt like Smith was a little bit in his own way. But he was dialed in on third down in the second quarter, especially with three third-and-long conversions on one drive (including a 13-yard scramble. Jones was 3-for-7 for four yards on first downs late in the second quarter. Interestingly, the Patriots weren’t even that effective throwing on first down in the early going. So if he doesn’t trust the protection, he’s going to lean on Damien Harris. The conclusion? McDaniels would like to open it up and be a little more diverse on first down but he doesn’t want Jones to get smushed. But once Jones got strip-sacked, the Patriots ran on seven of their next eight first-down plays. They came out similarly against Dallas, throwing on five of their first seven first-down plays and scoring two touchdowns. The Patriots threw on 17 of their first 25 first-down plays Sunday (that was by the midpoint of the third quarter). Jones had to manage clock, take checkdowns and convert a fourth-down after a trick play went awry. Second, because of that trust, the Patriots were able to run a half-closing drive with Jones that went 11 plays and 72 yards in 1:32. Sunday was a watershed game for the Patriots in a couple of ways.
But they can’t dip into that bag if they can’t be sure Jones will be protected. They have enough at running back, tight end, wide receiver and quarterback to compete with anyone. The key to this Patriots season - as we’ve all noticed by now - is going to be their offensive line.
#ROAD RASH 3 COVER MAC#
So McDaniels could untether Mac Jones a little more on early downs, dial up long-developing trick plays and feel confident that Jones wasn’t going to get sawed in half as he nearly was the week before against Dallas when Yodny Cajuste couldn’t handle Randy Gregory on the right side. And that was possible because he trusted the offensive line (Isaiah Wynn, Ted Karras, David Andrews, Shaq Mason and Mike Onwenu) was healthy and cohesive enough to deliver. It got that way because McDaniels was able to - to borrow a phrase from the running game - coach downhill. Perry's Report Card: High marks all around for Pats vs. The Patriots' possessions against the Jets went touchdown, touchdown, field goal, touchdown, touchdown, field goal, punt, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown. But the best they’d shown from their offseason roster improvements were two entertaining Ls. The Patriots talked the talk of a good team all week with their “We’re 2-4 but we don’t feel 2-4 …” affirmations.
But nobody was talking about the likelihood of a 41-point win when Sunday dawned, were they? For the 3,400th time since Sunday at 4 p.m., we acknowledge that the Jets are trash.
The longtime Patriots offensive coordinator - whose play-calling sometimes causes our six-state region’s mood to turn pitch black - lit the fire that turned into the Patriots' 54-point inferno Sunday against the Jets.
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