With the Cowboys zone structure taking away Jones’s initial read, Mac gets antsy in a clean pocket while scanning the right side of the field and starts moving off his spot. Then, after resetting in the pocket, Jones threw across the field from the right hash into the left sideline where Cowboys corner DaRon Bland was eagerly waiting for a pick-six – a throw that any quarterback gets chewed out for making, regardless of physical tools.
In the first three games of the season, Jones mostly played with good poise despite an offensive line that routinely put him under pressure. But, on Sunday, Mac played non-competitive football by losing his wits in a way we’ve never seen in his 36 starts in a Patriots uniform.
The film will tell the complete story about how Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn rattled Jones, which is at least partially on the talent around him and could’ve been a Quinn masterclass where he out-schemed O’Brien to force the passing game into Jones’s hands.
New England needs to pick up its starting quarterback to recalibrate Jones’s decision-making process, or this season could go completely off the rails before we even get to Halloween. Belichick confirmed post-game that Jones will remain as the starter.
3. Patriots Defense Loses Two Key Playmakers to Injury in Nightmare Scenario
Although there are things the defense needs to clean up, it’s hard to get on a group playing a talented Cowboys offense down several key contributors in the secondary.
Adding to the nightmare loss, the Patriots lost first-rounder Christian Gonzalez, the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Month, to a shoulder injury late in the first quarter. Gonzalez was injured when he lowered his shoulder to chop down Cowboys running back Tony Pollard and didn’t return to the game after favoring his right arm walking off the field. After Gonzalez left the game, it sucked the energy out of the entire Patriots sideline, and Belichick even admitted it changed the entire game plan.
Then, the Pats lone Pro Bowler from a year ago, Matthew Judon, left the game with an elbow injury in the second half. According to NFL Network, Judon is being evaluated for a biceps tendon injury and is expected to miss time—nightmare becomes an even darker terror dream.
As we all know, the Patriots need to win games with their defense, and losing their two best defensive players in one game made a bad day even worse.
4. How Much of the Offense’s Struggles Are on Offensive Coordinator Bill O’Brien?
My biggest gripe with O’Brien through four games isn’t the lacking passing game because the Pats OC is doing his best with what he’s got. O’Brien is trying to create natural rubs, favorable leverage with switch releases/stacks/bunches, and larger openings in zone coverage with play-action, and the players just aren’t executing.
The nitpick for the Patriots offensive coordinator comes from a lack of creativity in the running game that isn’t getting the most out of its running back duo. Say what you want about the offensive line. Lead-back Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott are better than this. The Pats are relatively predictable and don’t do much to help the offensive line run block.
In two of the last three games, opposing defenses attacked the Patriots gap schemes that everyone is anticipating with run blitzes and slanting the defensive line to cross the blockers’ faces to prevent New England’s double teams from developing on the interior. On gap runs, the Pats want to move the line of scrimmage with two interior double teams, but if the aggressive fronts disconnect those double teams before they get rolling, it’s game over.
O’Brien must find schematic twists to diversify this running game, which isn’t living up to its potential at the moment.
