Notes and thoughts on the Patriots’ snap counts from their 30-17 loss to the Cardinals.
Before a too-little-too-late surge, the New England Patriots offense played one of its worst games of the season against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Struggling to string positive plays together, the unit led by quarterback Drake Maye and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt repeatedly shot itself in the foot.
That was particularly painful and evident on third downs, of which the Patriots had six on the day. Of those six, a grand total of zero resulted in the chains being moved.
The issues on those particular plays were manifold. From a 15-yard run on 3rd-and-5 being called back by a penalty, to a bad snap, to a fumble, to a sack, to more than one completion short of the sticks, New England’s offense kept finding new ways to disappoint on third down.
The result were lopsided play count and time of possession numbers. For the Patriots, their 51 offensive snaps were the lowest of the season; their 25:06 on the field currently ranks as the third-worst behind losses to the New York Jets (18:55) and Miami Dolphins (24:47) in Weeks 3 and 5, respectively.
On the other side of the ball, the Cardinals went 10-for-15 on third down. They were on the field for 70 snaps, totaling 33:32 of offensive possession.
Here is our full snap count report from the Patriots’ 30-17 loss in Arizona.
Offense
Total snaps: 51 | Time on the field: 25:06
QB Drake Maye* (51; 100%), LT Vederian Lowe* (51; 100%), LG Layden Robinson* (51; 100%), C Ben Brown* (51; 100%), RG Michael Onwenu* (51; 100%), RT Demontrey Jacobs* (51; 100%), WR Kayshon Boutte* (45; 88%), TE Hunter Henry* (41; 80%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson* (33; 65%), TE Austin Hooper* (31; 61%), WR DeMario Douglas (31; 61%), WR Kendrick Bourne (27; 53%), WR Ja’Lynn Polk* (20; 39%), RB Antonio Gibson (16; 31%), TE Jaheim Bell (4; 8%), OL/TE Lester Cotton (3; 6%), RB JaMycal Hasty (2; 4%), CB/RB Marcus Jones (1; 2%), OL/FB Sidy Sow (1; 2%)
*denotes starter
The Patriots entered Week 15 with potential change looming along their offensive line. However, neither Cole Strange nor Caedan Wallace were cleared in time for the contest; Strange was a game day inactive while Wallace remains on injured reserve with the designation to be activated. As a result of that, New England used a familiar offensive line.
The group of Vederian Lowe, Layden Robinson, Ben Brown, Michael Onwenu and Demontrey Jacobs went wire-to-wire against Arizona. That is the extent of positive things to say about the unit’s outing on Sunday, so let’s take a look at other areas instead.
At wide receiver, the Patriots’ usage remained mostly unchanged. While Ja’Lynn Polk got the start and saw a slight uptick in playing time compared to the last two weeks, he still remains the No. 4 option at his position. He also still remains a non-factor as far as his actual statistical contributions are concerned: his lone target sailed over his head incomplete.
Tight end was a two-man show as usual, while the running back group was headlined by Rhamondre Stevenson and the usually effective Antonio Gibson. Also joining the mix once again was three-way player Marcus Jones, who saw his first offensive touch of the year in his lone snap: he took a short swing pass 18 yards to help set up a Joey Slye field goal in the early second quarter.
Defense
Total snaps: 70 | Time on the field: 33:32
S Kyle Dugger* (70; 100%), S Jabrill Peppers* (69; 99%), CB Christian Gonzalez* (67; 96%), DE/ED Keion White* (56; 80%), LB Jahlani Tavai* (55; 79%), ED Anfernee Jennings* (51; 73%), DT Daniel Ekuale* (42; 60%), CB Jonathan Jones* (42; 60%), LB Christian Elliss (37; 53%), LB/ED Sione Takitaki* (36; 51%), DT Christian Barmore (36; 51%), CB Marcus Jones (35; 50%), DT Davon Godchaux* (33; 47%), ED Yannick Ngakoue (28; 40%), DE Jeremiah Pharms Jr.* (25; 36%), CB Alex Austin (25; 36%), DT Eric Johnson II (24; 34%), S Dell Pettus (18; 26%), DE/ED Deatrich Wise Jr. (16; 23%), S Brenden Schooler (5; 7%)
*denotes starter
The Patriots did not pull any surprises out of their collective hat on the defensive side of the ball, at least as far as the usual suspects are concerned. The top three defensive backs — Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, Christian Gonzalez — continued to play almost every snap. Meanwhile, Keion White was the top defensive lineman and Jahlani Tavai the No. 1 linebacker.
The more intriguing storylines unfolded further down the list. Let’s take Sione Takitaki and Christian Barmore, for example, who both played a season-high 36 snaps.
Meanwhile, Davon Godchaux was on the field for a season-low 47 percent of reps; Alex Austin split outside cornerback duties with Jonathan Jones instead of establishing himself as a CB2 opposite Christian Gonzalez; team captain Deatrich Wise Jr. continued to play minimal snaps; Brenden Schooler tied his season-high with 5 snaps on the defensive side of the ball.
One player also worth mentioning, albeit because he did not take the field on defense, is Jaylinn Hawkins. After starting last week and serving as a rotational third option at safety for much of the year, he was employed exclusively on special teams Sunday. Even with Marte Mapu a healthy scratch, the Patriots decided against Hawkins’ inclusion on the defensive side of the ball.
Special Teams
Total snaps: 25 | Time on the field: 1:22
S Brenden Schooler (21; 84%), S Jaylinn Hawkins (21; 84%), CB Marcellas Dial Jr. (21; 84%), S Dell Pettus (19; 76%), LB Sione Takitaki (17; 68%), TE Jaheim Bell (14; 56%), LB Jahlani Tavai (13; 52%), DE Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (13; 52%), ED Titus Leo (13; 52%), DE Keion White (11; 44%), LB Christian Elliss (11; 44%), RB/KR JaMycal Hasty (8; 32%), TE Jack Westover (8; 32%), K Joey Slye (8; 32%), RB/KR Antonio Gibson (7; 28%), DT Eric Johnson II (7; 28%), DE Deatrich Wise Jr. (7; 28%), CB Alex Austin (6; 24%), LS Joe Cardona (6; 24%), CB Isaiah Bolden (6; 24%), P/H Bryce Baringer (6; 24%), C Ben Brown (4; 16%), OT Demontrey Jacobs (4; 16%), G Layden Robinson (4; 16%), G Michael Onwenu (4; 16%), TE Austin Hooper (4; 16%), OL Sidy Sow (4; 16%), OL Lecitus Smith (4; 16%), CB/PR Marcus Jones (3; 12%)
Jaylinn Hawkins may not have seen any defensive action, but he was again a core special teamer for the Patriots against the Cardinals. As such, he tied Brenden Schooler and Marcellas Dial Jr. with 21 snaps in the game’s third phase.
Another player to highlight is Titus Leo. A recent practice squad pickup via the Indianapolis Colts, he made his Patriots debut by playing on four special teams units. His 13 combined snaps saw him line up on kickoff return and coverage, and punt return and coverage.
Did not play
QB Jacoby Brissett
As opposed to two weeks ago against the Colts, when he came on for one snap, Jacoby Brissett remained sidelined throughout Sunday’s game. The Patriots’ former starting quarterback was the only member of the game day roster not to take the field.
Inactive
WR Javon Baker, S Marte Mapu, QB Joe Milton III, OL Tyrese Robinson, OL Cole Strange
The Patriots ruled out five players for their game in Arizona, including two listed on the injury report. Neither Javon Baker (concussion) nor the aforementioned Cole Strange (knee) were able to get the green light to participate in the contest.
The other three, meanwhile, were healthy scratches. Seeing Marte Mapu on that list yet again is a disappointment after he did have some encouraging moments as a starter-level safety earlier in the year.