As the first half of the season comes to a close, the New England Patriots find themselves tied with the worst record in the AFC. The good news is that they stunned their division rival New York Jets in a 25-22 victory at Gillette Stadium thanks to a clutch game-winning drive from quarterback Jacoby Brissett, but the bad news is that New England also got outperformed by teams like the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars, who are just as terrible and ugly to watch. Rookie quarterback Drake Maye has been the only bright spot for New England in the second quarter of the season, forced to carry a team with little talent on their offense and too many injuries on their defense. Let’s take a look at some of the positives and negatives of the second quarter of 2024 for the Patriots and see what needs to change as the NFL inches closer to the postseason.
Patriots Second Quarterly Report
1. Drake Maye is Absolutely the Future
Despite the win-loss total for the Patriots this year, the one thing that everybody can feel excited about is that their quarterback, Maye, has shown tremendous signs of promise. In just four games started, he has thrown for over 200 yards in three of them. The only one that he failed to reach that mark was in their victory against the Jets when he suffered a concussion in the middle of the second quarter. However, he still ran for 46 yards on just three scrambles, including an 18-yard touchdown run to give the Patriots an early 7-0 lead. As of now, he has thrown six touchdown passes and just four interceptions. That might not be the healthiest stat line, but given the lack of help that Maye has to support him, it is honestly impressive. These final eight games are going to show the world what type of future the team has with him as their quarterback, so if they want to avoid another Mac Jones situation, they have to think long and hard about who they want to acquire in the upcoming offseason to make sure that Maye continues to head in the right direction.
2. The Run Defense Has Been Abhorrent
Everybody knew that when linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley was ruled out for the season due to a torn pec, the Patriots’ defense would take a step back, but nobody could have anticipated that they would have no answers against the run. Letting up 133 rushing yards against the Jets in week three and another 148 against the San Francisco 49ers the following game were somewhat expected. The Patriots were on a short week in the first matchup and San Francisco just has a vastly superior offense with a multitude of weapons. However, the red flags were raised in Week 5 at home against a Miami Dolphins team without Tua Tagovailoa or De’Von Achane. In a 15-10 defeat, New England let up 193 yards on forty-one Miami touches. Raheem Mostert and Jaylen Wright combined for 166 of those yards and they made Tyler Huntley look respectable by just handing the ball off ad nauseam in the fourth quarter. The Patriots then proceeded to give up 192 in Maye’s first start against the Houston Texans, 171 against the Jaguars in London, 112 in their rematch against the Jets, and then recently 167 in Nashville. The biggest reason why New England gave rewarding contract extensions to Jahlani Tavai and Anfernee Jennings was because both general manager Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo had a strong feeling that those would step up on the defensive side of the ball. Now it feels like they need Bentley and Christian Barmore for this defense to survive.
3. Rhamondre Stevenson Has Been a no-show
In the first four games of the season, running back Rhamondre Stevenson averaged close to four yards a carry but also fumbled four times, which was recovered by the opposition twice. In Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins, he was benched for second-string back Antonio Gibson, but Stevenson still finished with close to ninety yards on twelve carries, featuring a 33-yard touchdown. Since then, he has been completely held in check throughout the last few games. Even though he scored three times, which included the game-winner against the Jets at home, those were in short-yardage situations. Opposing defenses figured out that all they have to do to beat the Patriots is shut down the run and force them to throw the ball because they know that New England does not have the line to protect anybody nor reliable receivers that can stretch down the field. As a result, Stevenson has just 82 yards on thirty-seven touches in the last three weeks, and his stock has only regressed. He was another player who signed a contract extension in the summer since he was the only bright spot of the offense in a dismal 2023 season, but he is not even the second-best player on their team right now.
4. The Two Rookie Wide Receivers Are Disappointing
After the Patriots drafted Maye with the third overall pick in the spring of 2024, Eliot Wolf had the second pick in the second round. One of the biggest needs that New England had was a wide receiver, and although guys like Malik Nabers and Marvin Harrison Jr. were off the board, there were still a variety of guys that were on the board. Buffalo Bills had the first and selected Keon Coleman, but instead of the Patriots staying put with their selection, they traded down three spots with the Los Angeles Chargers. That team took Ladd McConkey, who has 440 yards and four touchdowns right now. Three selections later, the Patriots were on the clock with several options to choose from at wide receiver. They went with Ja’Lynn Polk, and in the fourth round, they gambled by drafting another wide receiver named Javon Baker. While they were not expected to be immediate impactful players, many were hopeful that those two could show positive flashes in their rookie season to signal positive development and progress.
How have they panned out so far? Polk has only caught ten passes for seventy-eight yards in eight games played. He only has one touchdown, which was in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks. Pro Football Focus recently graded him as the worst wide receiver with at least ten targets on the season. He is dead last in yards after the catch, second worst in yards per route, and third worst in separation. Baker, on the other hand, has been a healthy scratch in several games and has not even received a target in the games he has shown up on the field. Obviously, it is too early to label them as busts, but they have been incredibly disappointing to watch. It turned out that these two wide receivers were more challenging projects than expected at the draft, so if they want to turn out into worthy investments, they have to take a long look in the mirror, or else their tenures in the NFL are not going to last long.
5. Jerod Mayo Looks Overwhelmed
The Patriots have played nine games this season and some fans are already calling for head coach Mayo to be fired and replaced with somebody like Ben Johnson, the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. It is unfair to say those things before the season is over, but to say that Mayo is struggling would be a little bit of an understatement. Not only are they horrible on the field, but there is too much drama taking place off of it. There were several players that voiced their complaints in public, including Davon Godchaux for saying that some guys have been selfish and are only interested in individual stats rather than team performance. When Mayo questioned Polk’s technique and mindset, the rookie stated that he felt he had the best hands in the league, only for him to drop three targets in the ensuing game against the Jaguars. Jalen Reagor posted a cryptic picture on Instagram to tell everyone that he was not getting the production he wanted in New England before ultimately getting released from the practice squad. Jabrill Peppers was placed on the Commissioner’s Exemption List due to heinous charges that he was arrested from before their Week 5 game against the Dolphins. After the team lost to the Jaguars in London, Mayo called the players soft across the board while taking little to no accountability for himself. Even though he is ten times more transparent than Bill Belichick was with the media, the remarks that Mayo has made from time to time have been frustrating and confusing, to say the least. There are still eight more opportunities for him to turn things around, but if the losses worsen and the internal revolts heat up, then Mayo might not even last the entire year.
The next game for the Patriots will be on the road against the Chicago Bears. They have a chance to pull off a surprising and hilarious upset, but the Bears have a Pro Bowl roster compared to the lack of options New England has at their disposal right now. The only way for the Patriots have a chance is if Chicago completely falls apart on both sides of the ball, but that would require the road team to have a perfect and complete performance, which is impossible at this point of the season.
Main Image: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
