Five takeaways from Patriots’ 30-17 loss to Cardinals
Even with a solid showing from Drake Maye, New England’s O-line woes and lapses in defensive execution doomed them in Arizona.
The bye week clearly wasn’t the reset that the Patriots needed.
In what stood as probably their best shot at earning a win over their final four games, the Patriots were unable to execute against a retooling Cardinals team — dropping a 30-17 game in Glendale, Arizona.
Even with another strong performance from Drake Maye, just about every other facet of the game for the Patriots left a lot to be desired in the desert.
Here are five takeaways from Sunday’s latest loss for the 3-11 Patriots.
Patriots sleepwalk out of the bye
After a disheartening one-point loss to the Colts in Week 13, New England had an opportunity to reset last week and lick their wounds during the bye week.
Sunday’s matchup against Arizona represented the best “get-right” opportunity remaining on the 2024 schedule for New England, especially with the team’s final three games set against the Bills (twice) and Chargers.
But a matchup against a Cardinals squad mired in a three-game losing streak was largely uncompetitive all evening.
Even with the added rest, New England was sluggish in just every phase of the game against the Cardinals.
Whether it be offensive execution (especially along the line of scrimmage), several breakdowns on defense that led to chunk-yardage plays by Arizona, or miscues in special teams, the Patriots have done little to dissuade from the fact that this roster — beyond Maye and Christian Gonzalez — is a mess.
Maye steady, but conservative offensive gameplan sputters
The good news? Drake Maye put together a nearly mistake-free performance against Arizona — completing 19 of his 23 passes (82.6 percent) for 216 total yards with two touchdowns and one unfortunate interception.
The bad news? Maye and a solid performance on the ground from Rhamondre Stevenson (5.3 yards per carry) and Antonio Gibson (4.7 yards per carry) did little to move the needle for New England’s offense.
Most of those woes were a direct result of poor O-line play and penalties. Through the first 28 minutes of play, New England remarkably had more plays for negative yards (six) than first downs (five).
But even with New England’s struggles with blocking (more on that shortly), the Patriots also really limited their playmaking with a conservative gameplan out of the gate.
Even with Maye going 10-for-10 on passes in the first half, the Patriots went 0-for-5 on third down — with none of Maye’s throws going beyond five yards downfield. Maye’s first throw that went beyond 10 yards down the field was an incompletion toward Kayshon Boutte with 9:00 minutes left in the third quarter.
With New England settling for screens, shallow crosses and check downs for a majority of Sunday’s game, the Patriots’ struggled to generate productive drives — allowing Arizona to slowly build their lead behind several field goals from old friend Chad Ryland.
New England started to open things up on offense as the game went on, but the Patriots couldn’t claw back in the game.
The Patriots finally got into the red zone midway through the third period, but they failed to come away with any points after Stevenson was stuffed on a 4th-and-1 from the four-yard line.
New England had another chance to get on the board during their next drive following a Cardinals punt, but a throw from Maye to Boutte bounced off of his hands and right toward Sean Murphy-Bunting for an interception.
It was a sequence that just about summed about a punchless showing from New England’s offense.
Maye hit DeMario Douglas with a slick TD shovel pass in the fourth quarter before scoring again off a five-yard rush after the two-minute warning, but it was too little, too late.
A disaster along the O-line
Most of the talk regarding the Patriots’ draft targets in April as of late have revolved around playmaking pass-catchers like Travis Hunter or Tetairoa McMillan.
But Sunday’s loss once again reiterated the need for New England to significantly overhaul their offensive line — be it through the draft or free agency.
Each of New England’s first four drives were completely dismantled by poor O-line play.
- A hold from Layden Robinson on a third-down conversion from Gibson stalled New England’s opening drive, leading to a missed field from Joey Slye.
- A disastrous sequence from left tackle Vederian Lowe led to a tackle for loss against Stevenson and a seven-yard sack against Maye on back-to-back plays.
- A poor snap from center Ben Brown (his second of the first half) led to a failed play on third down and another punt for New England.
- A missed block from Lowe led to a loss of five on a run from Gibson and a stalled drive that ended with a Slye field goal.
With these several miscues in pass protection, run blocking and penalties piling up, New England was put in plenty of unenviable situations where the team had to make the most of third-and-long situations.
Given New England’s lack of proven playmakers, it should come as little surprise that those missteps led to disaster.
New England’s defense shredded once again
While New England’s offense struggled to string together productive drives, the Patriots defense offered little resistance against Kyler Murray, James Conner, and a rush-heavy Arizona approach.
A New England defense that entered Sunday with the 20th-ranked run defense (124.7 yards per game) gave up 163 rushing yards (and 395 total yards) in the loss — headlined by a 53-yard run by Conner in the first half. That big gain marked the third time this year the Patriots have surrendered a 50-plus-yard play.
New England’s tackling left a lot to be desired on Sunday, with a whiff by Kyle Dugger leading to a 39-yard pickup through the air by Greg Dortch off a simple screen pass.
Had it not been for a few clutch red-zone stops by Gonzalez against Marvin Harrison Jr., Murray (23-of-30, 224 yards, zero touchdowns) could have had an even stronger showing at State Farm Stadium.
Yes, New England did have some bad luck on the defensive side of the ball.
A fumble by Dortch in the first quarter was scooped up by Arizona tackle Jonah Williams for a touchdown before it bounced out of the end zone, while an interception from Jonathan Jones in the third quarter was negated after Anfernee Jennings was whistled for a questionable roughing the passer penalty against Murray.
Still, New England was always going to be staring at an uphill climb in this game with all of their tackling woes.
It was a disheartening result for New England after Maye finally found Douglas for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, with the defense responding by giving up a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to Arizona to ice the game for good.
As has been the case all season long for a regressing defense, the execution just wasn’t there for New England against a mistake-prone QB in Murray.
Gonzalez a bright spot
Much like Maye making plays on an otherwise lackluster offensive unit, Gonzalez was one of the few positives on an ugly evening for New England’s defense.
After giving up a 23-yard reception to Harrison Jr. in the first quarter, Gonzalez locked down the Cardinals’ 2024 first-round pick the rest of the day — with Harrison ending the game with just two catches off six targets for 32 yards.
Sunday’s game would have been even more lopsided if it wasn’t for the efforts of Gonzalez, who forced a pair of Arizona field goals after batting two potential touchdown grabs by Harrison in the end zone in the second and third quarters.
In a season where little has gone right for New England, Gonzalez has at least looked the part as a potential All-Pro cornerback.
Unfortunately, Maye and Gonzalez alone won’t be enough to elevate a poor Patriots roster.
LIVE UPDATES
7:10: Final: Patriots fall to the Cardinals, 30-17.
7:06: Drake Maye runs it in from 5 yards for a touchdown. Too little, too late, unfortunately.
33-17 Patriots.
6:56: And Arizona responds with a nine-play, 70-yard drive against New England’s defense. Conner runs it in for another touchdown. 33-10 Cardinals.
6:48: Drake Maye hits Douglas on a shovel pass off a scramble.
It’s now a 23-10 game with 8:14 left.
6:47: Kendrick Bourne with a fantastic catch off a great throw from Maye. Pickup of 37 yards.
6:41: James Conner runs it in for another touchdown.
22-3 Cardinals.
6:31: That’s about right. Maye’s pass to Boutte hits him square in the hands, he can’t corral it — and it lands in hands of a Cardinals player.
Interception.
6:23: Kyler Murray has come out of the game after taking a shot to the head from Jennings. Clayton Tune is in at QB.
6:21: Brutal. Jonathan Jones gets a pick on Murray, but it’s negated because Jennings is whistled for roughing the passer.
6:16: The Patriots get into the red zone, but Stevenson is stopped at the line of scrimmage on 4th and 1. Cardinals take over. Brutal.
6:13: A nice run by Antonio Gibson that reels off 29 yards. Patriots RBs have been strong today.
6:11: Drake Maye has his first pass over 10 air yards … with 9 minutes to go in the third quarter.
6:05: Christian Gonzalez has been the only good development on defense tonight. He’s been a force in the red zone against Harrison Jr.
Ryland hits a field goal to make it a 16-3 game.
6:02: Wise gets a sack, but it’s a horse-collar tackle. 15 yard penalty.
6:00: Some really poor tackling from New England here on that drive. Arizona moving down the field.
5:42: Halftime: Patriots trail the Cardinals, 13-3, at halftime. More mistakes for New England coming out of the half.
5:38: A great play from Christian Gonzalez to break up that TD from Marvin Harrison Jr. Ryland still hits a 35-yard field goal.
13-3 Cardinals.
5:36: Murray hits Dortch over the middle on a pick play that gains 39 yards. Not ideal for New England’s defense.
5:34: Keion White gets the sack against Murray. New England needs a stop here, especially with Arizona getting the ball again to start the second half.
5:29: Jonathan Kraft doesn’t seem thrilled.
5:24: Joey Slye converts on a 50-yard field goal. It’s a 10-3 game.
5:21: Marcus Jones chips in on offense. He picks up 18 off a swing pass.
5:20: Stevenson picks up a fourth down on a 4th and 1. He’s been running well so far today, even with a poor O-line in front of him.
5:13: A great play by Christian Gonzalez to break up a potential catch from Marvin Harrison Jr. Punt incoming for New England.
5:06: Low snap by Ben Brown again and the Patriots don’t get a play off on 3rd and 8. New England just doesn’t look prepared tonight.
5:03: End First: Patriots trail the Cardinals, 10-0. Another lackluster start for New England.
4:57: Not a great start for New England.
Greg Dortch fumbled. The ball rolled into the end zone and Jonah Williams recovers it for a touchdown. Was nearly a touchback, but Williams reels it in.
10-0 Cardinals.
4:52: James Conner reels off a 53-yard run. Huge hole.
4:48: What an absolutely brutal sequence from Vederian Lowe. Loses two battles that led to a TFL against Stevenson and a sack against Maye.
3 and out for New England.
4:44: Nice play by Christian Elliss to take down a scrambling Murray, but old friend Chad Ryland hits a 49-yard field goal.
3-0 Arizona.
4:38: A promising drive for New England ends with zero points. Joey Slye misses a 53-yard field goal.
4:36: Gibson picks up a third down on a tough run, but it comes back after a hold from Layden Robinson. Knocks New England out of field goal range.
4:30: Former Patriots LB and current Cardinals player Mack Wilson was really shaken up on that blitz pickup from Gibson.
4:29: A pair of first downs for New England out of the gate. Maye 3-for-31 for 31 yards. Nice response from Maye after a poor snap to flip the ball to Stevenson for 16 yards.
4:24: Patriots win the coin toss and want the ball to start the game. Offense coming up.
4:20: Roof’s open in Arizona:
3:47: A look at New England’s O-line during warmups.
3:35: Warmups underway:
3:05: Patriots inactives have been announced. Cole Strange was viewed as a possibility to return, but the former first-round pick isn’t cleared quite yet. Marte Mapu is inactive for the second game in a row.
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