Notes and thoughts on the Patriots’ 40-7 loss in Week 16.
The New England Patriots played maybe the worst game of their season, and they did it at home in a standalone game. Their 40-7 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Chargers was a tough one all around, with the team’s players and coaches alike deserving of blame for the blowout defeat.
Let’s get into our takeaways from the Patriots’ 13th loss of the season.
Seats should be getting hotter as Pats slide toward irrelevance
Going into this game, the belief was that Jerod Mayo was a safe bet to come back next season. After a performance like Saturday, especially considering it happened in a standalone game, his return might not be as certain as it appeared.
The defense — which should be his area of expertise — was destroyed once again, and the offense wasn’t much better either. This is exactly the type of game that could force an owner’s hand and result in some changes.
As the Patriots continue their slide toward irrelevance, nobody should be save after an outing like this.
Of course, the Krafts might not be that rash; they said back in January that they were thinking long-term in promoting Mayo to replace Bill Belichick. With the way the team has looked in two of its three games since the bye week, however, drastic measures would certainly be justified.
Another strange turn of events
Jerod Mayo has made a habit of saying things on the podium and then having to retract them later. Typically, all that happens after the game. On Saturday, he followed a different timeline.
Speaking to 98.5 The Sports Hub before the game, he announced that Antonio Gibson was going to be the starting running back. When the offense actually took the field, however, it was Rhamondre Stevenson getting the start.
It is unclear how that happened. Maybe offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt wanted to start Stevenson and simply ignored what Mayo was saying, or maybe there was a miscommunication between the two of them, or maybe some unexpected issue came up that forced the team’s hand.
What we do know is that the Patriots were planning to start Gibson at some point before the game. Color commentator Ross Tucker confirmed as much on NFL Network, when talking about Friday’s production meeting with the team.
“That’s what we were told when we met with the team yesterday,” Tucker said during the broadcast. “They said Gibson was going to get the start because they wanted to send a message about accountability and about how important ball security is.”
Gibson, meanwhile, claimed he was not involved in any conversation about starting the game.
“I was told nothing all week about me starting,” he said. “So, that wasn’t even on my mind. I had no type of feelings towards that. We did the same thing we’ve been doing. Mondre got his snaps, I got my snaps.”
Regardless of what was said or not, it was yet another strange turn of events — one that Mayo explained after the game by saying it was a “coach’s decision.” Well, then.
Cole Strange looks fine at center
Speaking of “strange,” former first-round draft pick Cole Strange got his first career start at center on Saturday. He looked fine in his new role.
Some of the blocking calls appeared to be an issue, and, if that was something that he was in charge of, he certainly needs some work on that. The blocking itself was pretty good, though. It might not have been good enough to make you feel like you have a center of the future, but good enough after one game to feel like he can step in and be a serviceable player if they need him to be.
For a player who went more than a full year between starts due to a knee injury, playing at a serviceable level in his comeback is a positive development. The hope is that he can build on it next week, and heading into the offseason.
Time to play the kids
Jerod Mayo has talked a lot about wanting to see more out of the Patriots’ young players. Unfortunately, that was all talk, because he has failed to actually give any of them any meaningful snaps for the vast majority of the season.
Take offensive tackle Caedan Wallace. The third-round pick has been hurt for most of the season, but was finally back on the game day roster against the Chargers. Instead of starting him, however, the Patriots stuck with Demontrey Jacobs, who has been a weak link up front throughout the year.
They did put Wallace in during garbage time, but an argument can be made that he should be the starter next week. Regardless of how he plays, the Patriots a) can’t do much worse than Jacobs, and b) need to see what they have in Wallace heading into the offseason.
Rookie receivers Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker also didn’t see a lot of playing time Saturday, or lately in general. As bad as their production has been, they should still be getting as many snaps as possible in what has long been a lost season for the Patriots.
Even the aforementioned Cole Strange wasn’t getting reps at center until Ben Brown was declared out for the game.
Mayo wants to see what he has in them before season’s end? It’s now or never.
Another complete no-show on defense
The Patriots entered the season with a clear plan in mind: play good defense, and control the ball on offense through the ground game. They did neither of those things on Saturday, with the defensive contribution in particular of a major concern.
In fact, this might have been the worst the Patriots have played on defense in years. The Chargers had the ball for over 40 minutes, ran 77 plays, and were 10-of-17 on third down. They gained 7.4 yards per pass play and averaged 4.0 yards per run. Long story short, L.A. moved the ball at will all day.
A few of the players, including Keion White have been vocal about the need for change, and it is hard to argue with them. To see the entire unit take a huge step back this year makes you think that talent is only one part of the issue; a big chunk of the blame has to fall on the coaching staff as well.
One prime example is the number of horse-collar tackles. White was flagged for the infraction in the late third quarter on Saturday, the fourth time a Patriot has been penalized on such a play. The team is leading the NFL in that category, and is responsible for 27 percent of all horse-collar calls around the league so far this season.
Needless to say, something has to change with the defensive coaching. What the Patriots have gotten out of their players hasn’t been close to acceptable.
Ladd McConkey makes it seem personal
By now, everyone knows that the Patriots traded back from 34 to 37 in this year’s draft, passing on an opportunity to select Ladd McConkey and instead taking Ja’Lynn Polk three picks later. McConkey has been one of the better receivers in the NFL — rookie status or not — and has looked like a future cornerstone receiver, while Polk has done next to nothing all season.
It’s tough for a decision to look much worse than that one, and on Saturday, it looked like McConkey and the Chargers made it personal. He went off for eight catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns and was clearly the best receiver on the field on both teams.
“No extra motivation or nothing like that,” McConkey said in the postgame locker room. “When I got drafted, I was excited to get drafted. I didn’t care about [the trade] or whatever. I’m right where I’m supposed to be, so it’s a cool moment.”
“We just went out and did our business. There’s probably no hard feelings,” added Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. “He’s a very talented player. Thankful to have him on our team. He’s certainly made my job easier. Just go through your reads. In he’s open, he’s open and you get him the ball.”
This certainly isn’t the first time the Patriots have missed on a receiver in the draft. And while I am not going to bring all of those up, this one might be up there with the worst misses in recent memory.
Injury concerns mount
The Patriots’ two best players left the game for a while with head injuries. Drake Maye was evaluated, and eventually came back in the early second quarter. Christian Gonzalez, on the other hand, was evaluated and did not return.
With only one game left in the season, and considering how important Gonzalez is to the defense in the long run, there is an argument he should not be playing next week. The Patriots don’t have many bright spots, but him and Maye have been two of them. When both of them deal with injury concerns, it just makes the Patriots a lot more difficult to watch.
Kyle Dugger’s best is not enough
“Dugger is obviously pushing through something and we all appreciate it,” Jerod Mayo said about the Patriots’ starting safety earlier this week. “From our perspective, that’s what football is all about this time of the year. There are many people dealing with nagging injuries that may or may not have to get addressed at the end of the season. He’s doing his best and we appreciate it.”
On Saturday, Dugger’s best was nowhere near enough. He gave up a touchdown on Saturday in zone coverage, and didn’t even start running until the receiver was past him.
The Patriots made it a priority to re-sign Dugger this offseason, and kept him on a four-year, $58 million extension. Since that deal, however, he has been one of the worst cover safeties in the league.
That regression might be due to the ankle and quad injuries he has been fighting through, but it has still been alarming considering his price tag. Dugger’s play is something that bears watching moving forward.
Top-5 pick confirmed
With the loss on Saturday, and assuming the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars don’t tie this weekend, the Patriots have all but clinched a top-5 selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. Even if they were to win the meaningless game against the Buffalo Bills next week, the worst they will finish is with Pick No. 5.
In a season where there has been almost no good news, knowing that they have a chance for a real impact player in April is a much-needed reprieve.
An AFC East game to wrap things up
The Patriots will end their 2024 season next weekend at home against the Buffalo Bills. Assuming that the Bills beat the hapless New York Jets on Sunday, they will have clinched the No. 2 seed in the AFC, and will have nothing to play for. If so, there is a good chance that Buffalo will not have its starters on the field for all four quarters.
The Patriots should be able to compete with the Bills’ backups in that case, especially considering the way they played against the Bills last week. Then again, if they played the way they played on Saturday against the Chargers, they are not beating anyone.