The New England Patriots came up short in Week 9 when they hosted the Washington Commanders at Gilette Stadium. It was a game there for the taking, as New England led by seven after a Chad Ryland field goal early in the third quarter. Unfortunately, that would be the last point the team scored in the game.
The Patriots would get outscored 10-0 from that point on, losing 20-17. In eight of their nine games this season, New England has failed to score more than 20 points, which is as big of a reason as any for their struggles.
A lot of the attention for those struggles has been placed on quarterback Mac Jones. He struggled again against Washington, completing only 24-of-44 passes for 220 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
During his post-game press conference, he was asked some questions that elicited awkward responses. Jones didn’t want to throw anyone under the bus, but the message was clear. He doesn’t believe he is being put in a position to succeed as other quarterbacks around the league are.
Keeping his confidence up is one of the bigger challenges that Jones is facing. He admitted that it was tough to remain confident in the offensive system that has been put in place. But, he just has to remain confident in himself and his abilities.
Jones, a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is in a tough spot. He was expected to be the long-term heir apparent to Tom Brady and things haven’t gone according to plan. While he has struggled in some areas, a lot of the blame can be placed on the Patriots, as they have done very little to put him in a position to succeed.
This is the third offensive coordinator that Jones has played under with the Patriots. He had Josh McDaniels in Year 1 before the ill-advised decision to have Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, who have defense and special teams backgrounds, to run the offense last season.
Bill O’Brien was brought in to help get things back on track in 2023 but that has not yet been the case. The Patriots rank 31st in points scored and 27th in yardage as O’Brien hasn’t been as impactful as the franchise would have hoped.
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