It can’t get any worse for the Patriots, can it?
The Patriots trailed 24-0 at halftime and 31-0 early in the third quarter against the Dolphins.
Welcome to the Unconventional Review, an instant reaction to standouts, stats, and story lines from the Patriots’ most recent game . . .
This had better be the low point.
This had better be rock bottom.
This — a 34-15 loss to the Dolphins in which the Patriots committed six first-quarter penalties and 10 overall, trailed, 24-0, at halftime and 31-0 early in the third quarter, and gave up 373 yards of total offense with a second straight putrid defensive performance — had better be as bad as it gets.
Because if it gets worse than this, I don’t know if anyone can continue to believe — if anyone still continues to believe after back-to-back debacles against the Rams and Dolphins — that Jerod Mayo is the right person to be coaching this team.
I’ve tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. We’ve known him a long time — as a tough, hard-hitting player, as a brief media personality (the first branch on the “Quick Slants” coaching tree), as an assistant coach under Bill Belichick. We know he’s smart and hard-working and has an easy way with people.
We also know he has no previous head coaching experience. And we are reminded of that virtually every single week, with puzzling — and at times, unjustifiable — tactical or game-clock decisions constantly rearing up.
The win over the Bears Nov. 10 felt like a turning point. Instead, it might be the high point. The Patriots have been outscored, 62-37, since, and that loss to Matthew Stafford (295 yards and 4 TDs on just 27 passing attempts) and his Rams was far uglier than the 28-22 final score.
We knew Mayo would have to grow into the job. And we knew this roster was devoid of players — save for Drake Maye, Christian Gonzalez, and three or four more — who will be here when this franchise is thriving again.
But who knew that they would be this sloppy, this undisciplined, this fundamentally inept, so deep into the season. Did I mention that the Patriots had six pre-snap penalties? Or that left tackle Vederian Lowe had four penalties all by himself? Or that the makeshift line allowed Maye to get sacked four times and hit eight?
Maye was not flawless Sunday, by any means. He turned over the ball twice, with an interception and a strip-sack. But he’s not getting any blame here. The kid plays with as much poise as possible behind that sieve of a line, with marginal skill players around him.
If only his rookie head coach had progressed half as much as he has.
Some further thoughts, upon immediate review . . .
Three players who were worth watching
Players suggested in the Unconventional Preview: Christian Gonzalez, De’Von Achane, Hunter Henry.
Jonnu Smith: Geez, where was this guy during his ineffective two seasons with the Patriots? Smith — who in 30 games from 2021-22 had 55 catches for 539 yards and a single touchdown — was all over the place against his former team. The elusive tight end wasn’t the Dolphins’ leading receiver — that was Patriot killer Jaylen Waddle, with eight receptions for 144 yards and a score — but Smith was the tone-setter, catching two passes for 23 yards in the first quarter, then hauling in a 7-yard touchdown reception early in the second quarter for the game’s first points. Smith finished with nine catches for 87 yards and the TD. He did not have more than five catches or 61 yards in a game as a Patriot.
De’Von Achane: The Patriots actually did a decent job against the run, limiting Miami to 65 yards on 27 attempts, a 2.7 average. Achane had just 32 on 10 attempts, but he flummoxed the Patriots in the passing game, catching a pair of touchdown passes in the second quarter — a 9-yarder, and then an 11-yarder exactly six minutes later.
Christian Barmore: Maybe the only plus for the Patriots? Barmore, in his second game since returning from a scary issue with blood clots, picked up his first sack of the season in the fourth quarter and looked dominant at times.
Grievance of the game
So … many … options.
Actually, for all of the assorted embarrassments — the pre-snap penalties, the dubious coaching decisions, the second straight lousy defensive scheme and performance — the choice here is pretty easy.
The decision to run the ball on third and 16 from the Dolphins’ 30 on the Patriots’ second possession is a microcosm of one of their most annoying characteristics, and one that ought to be correctable, if the coaches had the nerve to correct it.
A total lack of aggressiveness by Jerod Mayo and his staff.
Rhamondre Stevenson gained 3 yards on this particular uninspired play, which left the Patriots with … a 45-yard field goal attempt by Joey Slye, which he ricocheted off the right upright.
At that point in a scoreless game — at this point in the season, when winning really does not matter — why be so cautious? Why play for a 45-yard field goal? There are no real stakes this season other than developing Maye. Be bold. Give the offense a chance to have some fun, play with a freewheeling style, and build chemistry.
Put the ball in Maye’s hands, and let him make a play. If it’s an incomplete pass, Slye still gets a shot at a 48-yard field goal.
There’s a time to coach conservatively. This was not it. Frankly, calling that particular play call conservative gives the coaches too much credit. It was timid, and it set the tone for a frustrating day.
Three notes scribbled in the margins
Predicted final score: Dolphins 24, Patriots 20
Final score: Dolphins 34, Patriots 15
Tua Tagovailoa will never have the statistics or the style points to win an NFL Most Valuable Player award, but he is on the very short list of the most important players to their particular team in the league. As noted in the preview, the Dolphins averaged 10 points per game during Tagovailoa’s four-game absence with a concussion. In the five since his return, the Dolphins are averaging 29. Tagovailoa makes Mike McDaniel’s offense operate with precision … Perhaps this isn’t totally fair since he’s been dealing with an ankle injury for several weeks, but the early returns on the four-year contract extension Kyle Dugger signed in April are not encouraging. Dugger was repeatedly beaten by Smith, and that’s a player he should have a pretty decent idea of how to defend … Austin Hooper has turned out to be one of Eliot Wolf’s better offseason pickups. The veteran tight end — who caught a 38-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter on an off-platform throw by Maye, easily the offense’s best moment — has become a dependable target in recent weeks.
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