The New England Patriots are tied 7-7 with the New York Giants in the fourth quarter of Sunday afternoon's matinee rock fight. Once upon a time, that would have been a marquee matchup. Long gone, however, are the days of Tom Brady and Eli Manning.
Instead, today's matchup features Mac Jones and Tommy DeVito. That strange background noise you hear is the distant sobs of the northeast. A lament for football, found dead where it once thrived.
Let's check in on Mac Jones, our weekly champion of the QBs to bench column and the bane of every New England fan's existence.
Y'all ever watch Manchester by the Sea? That was almost as sad as watching Patriots football.
As Jones' career continues its southward turn, here are a few Patriots who deserve a share of the blame for spoiling the once-promising No. 15 overall pick.
Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott deserve blame for Patriots' mediocre run game
The Patriots' pass attack has been volatile and inconsistent all season. Mac Jones has devolved into a mistake factory (I'm not going to include him as a "person to blame," but Jones himself is culprit No. 1 here), with New England's iffy receiving corps only furthering the Patriots' inability to consistently generate chunk gains.
If your pass attack is problematic, it becomes all the more important to effectively run the ball. New England's poor offensive line is another viable source of blame, but Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott land a page in the Blame Book for their general lack of success on the ground.
Stevenson was billed as a legitimate breakout star last season, crossing the 1,000-yard threshold and registering five touchdowns while averaging a robust 5.0 yards per carry. Thrust into full-time RB1 duties, Stevenson's efficiency has plummeted to a career-worst 3.8 yards per carry in 2023. He has 462 yards on 126 attempts through 10 weeks, with three scores to his name. Hardly Pro Bowl, "breakout star" production.
The Elliott signing was supposed to bolster the ground attack for a Patriots team wary about Jones' competence (or lack thereof) in the pocket. Unfortunately, Elliott has matched last season's career-worst rate of 3.8 YPC while generally providing minimal dynamism as the Patriots' change-of-pace option. Rather than resurgent, Elliott has been stagnant.
New England averages 94.9 rushing yards per game, 26th in the entire NFL. That won't cut it for a team that can't trust its QB.
JuJu Smith-Schuster has done nothing to boost the Patriots' WR room
The Patriots signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year, $25.5 million contract in the offseason. He was expected to supply much-needed support in the WR room alongside fellow newcomer DeVante Parker. Neither has been particularly effective, but Smith-Schuster has been especially poor relative to expectations.
Smith-Schuster put together a strong 2022 campaign with the Kansas City Chiefs, accruing 933 yards and three touchdowns in 16 appearances (14 starts). He averaged 12.0 yards per catch. With the Patriots, he has made eight appearances with a grand total of 22 catches for 149 yards and one touchdown. He's averaging 6.8 yards per catch, essentially cutting last season's average in half.
It's fair to blame the system and the difference in QB (Patrick Mahomes is going to push the ball further down field than Mac Jones), but Smith-Schuster has been a shell of himself. On Sunday, he engaged in a shouting match with Patriots WR coach Troy Brown after a miscue led to an interception. The vibes are bad, and Smith-Schuster has to receive a portion of the blame. He was billed as Jones' new WR1. Instead, he's a clear third fiddle behind Parker and the upstart Demario Douglas.
New England is destined for a QB change in the offseason, so maybe Smith-Schuster gets a chance to course correct with a different signal-caller in 2024. But, 2023 has been a complete bust. He's not living up to his contract and the Patriots have to feel remorse watching Jakobi Meyers tearing it up for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Bill Belichick will ultimately receive the bulk of the blame for Mac Jones' struggles
It's only natural for the head coach to shoulder the majority of the blame in these situations. Mac Jones has completely tanked the season and the Patriots will soon be in search of a new QB, and perhaps a new head coach. Who would've thought Jones, who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2021, would potentially end the most storied coach-team relationship in league history two years later?
Belichick will go down as the greatest head coach the NFL has ever seen, but we are approaching Gregg Popovich territory here. Times change, and coaches who once held insurmountable tactical advantages in their prime lose their fastball. Belichick very clearly isn't one step ahead of the competition anymore. Jones' shoddy play would make it hard on any coach, but it's difficult to chart the QB's demise from a successful rookie season to a god-awful third season and not at least question Belichick's role in that decline.
We can toss Patriots O.C. Bill O'Brien into the fire as well, but Belichick has been in charge of personnel for years now and he is the sole champion of the famed "Patriot Way." Belichick put the pieces around Jones that have failed so spectacularly, and Belichick is the one who hired O'Brien after his college football flameout.
It's the head coach's job to optimize his players. Jones has brought this on himself in myriad ways, but the Patriots' approach has changed drastically since Jones' successful rookie campaign and the product has suffered. Jones should be out of a (starting) job next season, but Belichick's handling of the QB situation could push him out the door as well.