In what was a very eventful offseason for many teams, the New England Patriots were one of the few teams that very clearly got worse. Losing all-pro cornerback JC Jackson and pro bowl guard Shaq Mason, alongside some head-scratching draft picks and staff hirings, the Patriots seemed to be in a bad position going into a season with possibly the strongest AFC that Coach Bill Belichick has ever had to deal with. Unfortunately for Patriots fans, during the game on Sept. 11, it seemed the worries were valid. The Patriots lost the season opener to the Miami Dolphins 20–7, and it was anything but pretty (1).
New England started the game with a very promising drive including plays to Jakobi Meyers, Damien Harris and Hunter Henry. But it all went downhill after a Mac Jones deep ball to former Dolphin Devante Parker was batted away by Xavien Howard and into the hands of Jevon Holland resulting in an interception.
The Patriots’ offense showed visible struggles, specifically with their play-calling. Matt Patricia, a former Patriots’ Defensive Coordinator who had now rejoined the staff, was left in charge of offensive play-calling this season. Patricia notably had a short tenure in which he was the Head Coach of the Detroit Lions, and was notoriously abysmal. His questionable game plan resulted in a scoreless first half for New England.
On the other side, Miami was in full control of the game. They started off with a field goal, and then after that, they took over. Mac Jones was strip-sacked by Brandon Jones, resulting in a Melvin Ingram touchdown, and to make matters worse, the half ended on a long touchdown catch on fourth down by standout receiver Jaylen Waddle. The Pats now found themselves in a 17–0 hole come halftime.
The Patriots finally put points on the board at the end of the third quarter. A nice drive ended with Mac Jones throwing a pass to newly acquired gadget player Ty Montgomery, who rolled into the endzone for a touchdown. Miami answered, however, with a nice drive resulting in a 49-yard field goal as the quarter came to a close.
The fourth quarter was rather uneventful. Neither team put any points on the board, and the game ended in a Miami win, 20–7. Newly acquired, superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill helped young quarterback Tua Tagavailoa defeat Bill Belichick for the fourth time in his career, as the Dolphins’ new head coach Mike McDaniel starts off his coaching career with a win.
An interesting observation during the game was the lack of plays that Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne was involved in. Bourne was one of the Patriots’ most efficient offensive weapons last season, but for reasons that were unclear at the time, he only saw the field twice during the game. In his short time out there, he caught a 41-yard pass from Mac Jones, which only further added to the frustration around his lack of playing time.
It was later revealed that Bourne was sat by Matt Patricia due to him being tardy for a meeting before a preseason matchup against the Carolina Panthers (2). Patricia has had an ugly reputation when it has come to player interactions over the years.
After the Detroit Lions fired him, players such as pro bowl cornerback Darius Slay spoke out on social media celebrating and laughing. A’Shawn Robinson, a defensive lineman for the Lions during Patricia’s time in Detroit claimed the coach told him that he would “take his career away from him,” (3). It was also rumored that Patricia played a role in the benching of former all-pro Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler in Super Bowl 52, which the Patriots ultimately lost.
Many fans think Patricia brings a toxic environment with him and has developed an ego problem over the years. Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft has spoken out saying he would like Bourne to get more playing time in the future (4). With the struggles the offense has been having, benching a key offensive player for a minor offense from a month ago is leaving fans and other members of the team perplexed and angry.
If there were any positives to take out of the Patriots’ performance, the most noteworthy one would be young safety, Kyle Dugger. Belichick drafted Dugger in the second round of the 2020 draft from Lenoir-Rhyne, a small school. Dugger has gone on to show improvements every season, and he looked fantastic in his first game this season, racking up three tackles for loss. Dugger is looking to have a big season, especially after Adrian Phillips, another Patriots safety, went down with a rib injury during the loss (5).
Despite Dugger’s performance, New England looks like a mess. The lack of off-season improvement and controversial coaching assignments seem to already be major concerns for the season. The Patriots face off against Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers team on Sept. 18, where the Patriots find themselves lucky as reigning Defensive Player of the Year TJ Watt will miss the game with a pectoral injury (6), but regardless the matchup is going to be tough. The next coming weeks should show where the Patriots stand regarding their competition, but as of right now it certainly looks rough.
1. https://www.nfl.com/games/patriots-at-dolphins-2022-reg-1
2. https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/kendrick-bourne-matt-patricia-doghouse-bill-belichick-patriots/
3. https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2020/11/28/detroit-lions-players-matt-patricia-fired-ashawn-robinson-darius-slay/6451522002/
4. https://nypost.com/2022/09/14/robert-kraft-wants-kendrick-bourne-out-of-patriots-doghouse/
5. https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/patriots-safety-adrian-phillips-exits-game-vs-dolphins-injury
6. https://steelersdepot.com/2022/09/rapoport-t-j-watt-wont-need-surgery-roughly-six-weeks-of-rehab-to-return/
