After losing another game there for the taking, a question: When will the Patriots win again?
The Patriots have lost three straight games and four of five, dropping to 3-10.
Welcome to the Unconventional Review, an instant reaction to standouts, stats, and story lines from the Patriots’ most recent game …
FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots could have beaten the Colts Sunday, and they probably should have beaten the Colts, although any defense that acts as a not-so-innocent bystander while scatter-armed Anthony Richardson orchestrates a 19-play drive does not necessarily deserve to win.
As it was, the Patriots lost, 25-24, on Richardson’s 2-point charge into the end zone, which punctuated Alec Pierce’s 3-yard touchdown catch with 12 seconds left.
The Patriots have lost three straight games and four of five, dropping to 3-10 in Jerod Mayo’s debut season.
And so the question must be asked: When, exactly, will they win another game?
I hope it’s not until 2025, because I’ll admit with no shame that I would like to see this year’s Patriots team lose at least as many games as they did in the four-win conclusion to Bill Belichick’s extraordinary 24-year run here.
Another four-win season wouldn’t exactly be progress, but it would come with some genuine hope considering Drake Maye’s excellent first impression. But winning fewer than four — even if it is best for draft position — would mean that this season ended really badly, with seven straight losses at a time when you’re hoping to see progress more than anything over the final month.
It’s tough to project when and where that next win might occur. After the bye, the Patriots have road games against the Cardinals and Bills before finishing up with home games against the Chargers and, again, the Bills. Maybe Buffalo rests its starters in the regular-season finale?
So many chances have been wasted, including Sunday against the Colts, that the assumption must be that there are more wasted chances ahead.
Some further thoughts, upon immediate review …
Three players who were worth watching
Players suggested in the Unconventional Preview: Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Taylor, Zaire Franklin
Christian Gonzalez: The Patriots entered the game with just six interceptions, which I assumed had to be the fewest or close to the fewest in the NFL. Turns out it was tied with the Titans, Cardinals, and Chiefs for the ninth-fewest picks in the league. The Giants, ridiculously, have just one, while the Jets and Browns (playing Monday) have two. The more you know …
Against the wildly talented, wildly erratic Richardson, the Patriots upped their total to eight. Christian Elliss collected the first interception of his 35-game NFL career when he hauled in a pass deflected by Jahlani Tavai near midfield on the final play of the first quarter.
A more likely candidate came up with the second pick when Gonzalez — who is having a Pro Bowl-caliber season — intercepted Richardson at the Patriots 48 at the 7:59 mark of the fourth quarter.
The Patriots wasted the great field position, however, going three-and-out and setting the stage for the Colts’ 19-play, 80-yard winning drive. It should be noted that Gonzalez made an excellent tackle on that final drive, taking down Jonathan Taylor for a loss of a yard on third and goal with 21 seconds left at the Patriots 3. Unfortunately, it was the last play the defense would make.
Antonio Gibson: To be kind, the verdict on Eliot Wolf’s roster-building before this season remains to be determined. He got the quarterback right, and that’s by far the most important thing by any measure, but let’s just say other successes have been slow to reveal themselves.
Grant him two smaller hits from free agency. One is veteran tight end Austin Hooper, who had four receptions for 42 yards Sunday, including a 16-yard touchdown on a perfectly placed Maye throw. Hooper isn’t spectacular, but he has three straight games with at least four receptions, suggesting he has Maye’s full confidence. Let’s call him steady.
The other small success happened to be a big part of the offense Sunday. Gibson spent the first four years of his career with Washington before coming to New England as a free agent. He finished with 62 rushing yards on just seven carries, including an impressive 11-yard touchdown burst on a play during which he didn’t appear to have much of an opening. His showing improved his yards-per-carry this season from 4.3 to 4.7.
Jonathan Taylor: The star running back averaged 3.8 yards per carry — below his 4.4 average entering the game — but set the tone from the beginning. He ran for 9 yards on the Colts’ second play from scrimmage, then finished the eight-play, 71-yard drive by touching the ball four straight times, culminating it after three rushes for 15 yards with … well, not a run, but a 7-yard TD catch for his lone reception.
Taylor carried the load to open the second half as well, running on the Colts’ first five plays for 29 yards on a drive that ended with a Matt Gay 25-yard field goal. He also made for a fine decoy on Richardson’s winning 2-point conversion, and finished with 96 yards on 25 carries.
Grievance of the game
It’s the penalties. Every week. The penalties.
Maybe we have to be more specific about which kind of penalties. Among the seven penalties committed by the Patriots (and accepted by the Colts), two were of the pass interference variety, including a crushing 14-yarder on Alex Austin on third-and-9 from the New England 34 with 1:23 left. That might have been the most damaging penalty, but I’m not sure it was the most frustrating.
That designation belongs to the four accepted holds on Patriots offensive linemen in the first half, including back-to-back calls against Mike Onwenu and Layden Robinson that turned a first and goal situation from the Colts 2 into an absurd first and goal from the 22. The Patriots line can’t stay in the way for long against the opposing defense — Maye was sacked four times — and they sure as heck can’t get out of their own way.
Three notes scribbled in the margins
Predicted final score: Colts 23, Patriots 21
Final score: Colts 25, Patriots 24.
Hunter Henry led the Patriots with seven receptions for 75 yards, impressive considering he took a huge hit to the head on the team’s second possession … Joey Slye came closer to hitting that 68-yard field goal attempt with one second left — a Hail Mary of a kick, you might say — than anticipated given that the 54-yarder he converted earlier in the game probably wouldn’t have had the distance from, oh, 56 yards … Ah, now that I’ve thought about it, Mayo should have let Maye take a shot at the Hail Mary. Gotta give magic a chance to happen, you know?
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