Patriots most to blame for Week 3 loss to Jets
The New England Patriots picked up their second loss of the year on Thursday Night Football against the New York Jets to kick off Week 3 of the 2024 season. Whereas they remained competitive just a few days ago in their overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks, though, the Pats were thoroughly outplayed in this one, which led to them suffering a 24-3 defeat.
Leaks were sprung all over the place for New England in this one, and it’s clear there are several folks deserving of blame for this unfortunate result. With that being said, let’s pick out the three Patriots most to blame for this loss and take a closer look at how they failed to step up to the plate against the Jets.
Rhamondre Stevenson
Through the first two games of the new season, Rhamondre Stevenson was arguably New England’s best player. He trampled the Cincinnati Bengals in the season opener (25 CAR, 120 YDS, 1 TD, 3 REC, 6 YDS), and put together another strong outing in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks (21 CAR, 81 YDS, 1 TD, 2 REC, 9 YDS). Against the Jets, though, Stevenson racked up just 23 yards on six carries, while also losing a fumble.
Simply put, nothing went right for Stevenson in this game. This was his third fumble of the season (although it’s only the first one he’s lost), and his biggest play of the night was wiped out because of a facemask penalty he committed, which also appeared to result in him injuring his hand. The Patriots cannot win if Stevenson is shut out on the ground like he was in this one, and he will be desperately hoping for a bounce back performance in Week 4.
Jahlani Tavai
Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
Prior to taking the field for Week 3, the Patriots were dealt some crushing news when it was revealed linebacker Ja’Whuan Bentley had suffered a torn pectoral muscle, which will likely end his 2024 campaign. That forced Jahlani Tavai and Raekown McMillan to take on bigger roles, and against the Jets, it didn’t exactly go well.
Tavai is a strong complement to Bentley, but he did not look good in his new role on Thursday night. Tavai whiffed on several tackles, and struggled with his pass coverage duties, as Aaron Rodgers consistently found open receivers in the middle of the field where Tavai was supposed to be. Losing guys like Christian Barmore and Matthew Judon on the defensive line hurt, but the absence of Bentley may truly tank the defense if Tavai can’t adapt to his new responsibilities.
The entire Patriots offensive line
It’s no secret that the Pats offensive line is in rough shape, but through two games, they had largely managed to keep Jacoby Brissett standing upright under center, while also opening holes up for the ground game. Neither of those things happened against the Jets, and rather singling one guy out, it’s only really fair to blame the entire unit for this loss.
Sure, Stevenson struggled on the ground, and Brissett got nothing going in the air, but neither of them were really given a shot to succeed. The Jets were winning the line of scrimmage battle on seemingly every single play. Running play action passes behind this line on Thursday night was a borderline criminal activity from offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, because everytime Brissett turned around after faking the hand off, he would get swarmed by guys in green jerseys.
Yes, the unit was shorthanded for this one, with both Sidy Sow and Vederian Lowe missing the contest, but there’s no excuse for this unit to play as poorly as they did. If New England can’t piece together a consistent offensive line moving forward, they may want to start holding open tryouts for the quarterback position, because it will only be a matter of time until Brissett succumbs to the beating he’s taking under center.
The post Patriots most to blame for Week 3 loss to Jets appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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