Why Patriots Fans Should Be a Little Nervous
Monday, September 20, 2021
The optimists would say the New England Patriots were just one fumble from being 2-0 and leading the division.
But, a deeper dive into the first two games should raise concerns for Pats fans.
Yes, the Patriots only lost to Miami in the first week by a single point. But, that performance -- and the quality of the Dolphins -- are now in serious question. After Miami's victory last week over the Patriots, they hosted the Buffalo Bills and lost their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, on the first offensive series and lost to the Bills 35-0.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSo the "close" 17-16 loss to the Dolphins may not have had the upside that Patriots fans had first thought.
Beating the Jets
On the scoreboard, the Patriots' win over the New York Jets on Sunday should provide a boost to the psyche. Well, maybe not.
The Patriots functionally were given four extra possessions due to the inept quarterbacking by the Jets rookie QB Zach Wilson who threw four…count them...four interceptions. Yes, Bill Belichick is tremendous at confusing young rookie QBs. Over the years, those first-year QBs have thrown just 21 TDs versus 41 interceptions against the Patriots since 2000. But Wilson, the number 2 pick in the 2021 draft, was beyond dismal on Sunday.
Should this be a positive sign for the Patriots? Well, you could say that it says something about the Pats' defense. But, on the offensive side, the Pats and Mac Jones were unable to take advantage of the flood of takeovers.
The Jets had more first downs, longer time of possession, and more yards.
Jones’ quarterback rating was an unremarkable 89 (Wilson was a 37).
As Belichick said after the game, “We still obviously have a ways to go a lot of things that we could do better. But I thought we did a lot of things better.”
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story listed the Bills record at 2-0. It is 1-1.
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