Analyzing the Patriots Heartbreaking 27-24 Loss To The Packers
A collaboration of gazette writers brings an in-depth analysis of the Patriots’ loss to Green Bay. Pierce and Gabriel take a close look at the footage and give their thoughts.
Pierce: Offensive Recap
With Mac Jones out, the Patriots were forced to turn to their QB2 – Brian Hoyer – to face off against Aaron Rodgers. Within the first few minutes of the game, Brian Hoyer took a nasty hit to his blindside and was forced to depart from the game due to concussion-related reasons. This opened the door for 4th-round rookie and third-string backup Bailey Zappe.
Zappe, who broke Joe Burrow’s collegiate passing record during his final season in college, was visibly nervous to be in the game as the Patriots QB. Going from an FCS QB for Western Kentucky University to playing against Aaron Rodgers in the span of 12 months is an arduous task to place on the shoulders of a 23-year old. Just as we all anticipated (sarcastic), Zappe handled the pressure excellently and made a historic achievement on the way.
Despite the loss Bailey Zappe made history yesterday.. — Became the 1st player to ever make his NFL debut as a visitor at Lambeau Field and throw a touchdown in that game. Lambeau Field is 65 years old… — First rookie QB to throw for a touchdown this season. pic.twitter.com/hxcWR8yzIE — NFL Muse. (@NFLMuse) October 3, 2022
With a rookie throwing the ball, the coaching staff smartly turned to the run game to pick up yards on early downs. Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson had a combined 32 attempts for 152 yards; an excellent 4.75 yards per attempt. For this season and last, the running game has remained a constant supply for yardage when adversity is presented. In 2021 it was the windy game against the Bills where Mac Jones threw for 15 yards, and this year it was, of course, this game against the Packers. As Mac continues to battle his high-ankle sprain, the running game will be a smart source of yards to turn to while a backup is at QB.
Damien Harris touchdown!! Patriots re-take the lead. The offensive line is dominating in the run game. pic.twitter.com/1YI4qtOJP9 — Pats Buzz (@PatsBuzz) October 2, 2022
A lot of credit should be given to the offensive line as well. Besides a cataclysmic performance from Isaiah Wynn – who was benched by Belichick later in the game – the Patriots front line of protection, led by rookie Cole Strange, did an excellent job in protecting Zappe and Hoyer while also giving clear lanes for Harris and Stevenson to pass through. This group has seen significant improvement since their Week One collapse against Miami.
This may have been Cole Strange's best game in pass pro. Showed his trademark nastiness, held up 1v1 on a rep vs Kenny Clark, and shut down every twist that came his way pic.twitter.com/ZC3GsmBUxv — Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 3, 2022
Overall, I was extremely impressed with this offense. With a rookie QB, They put up 17 points against a team that was the first seed in the NFC last year. This is the happiest I’ve ever been after a loss in overtime.
Playcalling
I didn’t catch many issues with the playcalling from Belichick and Patricia. Most of the miscues in this game surprisingly came from the officials. Take this missed call, for example:
Third down play for the #Patriots in OT. Looks like the officials missed a holding call on Kendrick Bourne. pic.twitter.com/t7PEf790ZL — Brendan McGair (@BWMcGair03) October 3, 2022
A highly-questioned play call from this game was in overtime when Belichick elected to punt the ball while the Patriots were in Green Bay territory. I can understand the outrage about this decision, but I agree with what Belichick did there. The defense had been excellently stopping the Packers offense up to that point. Risking placing the ball at midfield, where Rodgers would be one down away from a field goal, is a bad decision. Even though it didn’t work out in the end, the Patriots did the right thing there. Here’s what Belichick had to say about the call:
"Certainly, wouldn’t want to come up short on 4th-and-5 and hand them the ball, a first down away from field goal range… I don’t think it was heavily considered, no." Bill Belichick on the #Patriots decision to punt late in overtime.#ForeverNE | https://t.co/4tXCXFm0oE pic.twitter.com/LNZLYeKLG1 — NESN (@NESN) October 3, 2022
What Should We Expect In Detroit
Just like last week, there are two gameplans the Patriots will be crafting: one with Mac Jones and one without Mac Jones. The playbook with Mac Jones in it will look like what we have seen prior to the Green Bay game: a lot of Devante Parker deep-balls, Agholor quick-balls, and Bourne everything-balls. Every now and then there will be Harris or Stevenson sprinkled in-between.
The aggressiveness of the Patriots’ game plan may slightly dampen slightly since Mac may still be battling ankle issues. If Mac Jones is able to play the entire game, expect a lot of points to be put up on the board. The Detroit Lions defense has let up the most points in the entire league so far.
Lions defense the last 10 games under Aaron Glenn. 27 pts allowed 38 pts allowed 12 pts allowed 20 pts allowed 51 pts allowed 30 pts allowed 38 pts allowed 27 pts allowed 28 pts allowed 48 pts allowed For those keeping track at home.. that’s an average of 31.9 PPG — Detroit Moments (@DetroitMoments) October 2, 2022
The playbook without Mac Jones will be similar to what we saw against Green Bay. Now that everybody has seen that Zappe can sling it, he may be given more opportunities to throw deep and accumulate more yards. If Mac isn’t the Patriots’ starter then Zappe will certainly be taking his palace.
Gabriel: Defensive Recap
Overall, the Patriots defense underperformed, and could have definitely been better. Though the defense was largely unable to stop Packers running back Aaron Jones, who led the game with 110 rushing yards, the majority of Patriots backers and receivers were able to adequately impede the passing game. Though we saw an impressive performance by the defensive line last week, where we saw three sacks, they seemingly slowed down.
Looking at the stats alone, it’s amazing to me on how the game was as close as it was. Aaron Rodgers threw for 251 yards on 21 completions. This comes out to an average of 7.2 yards per carry, placing the Packers at 20th in the league for C/ATT. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ favorite target was fourth year receiver Allen Lazard.
Lazard had 116 yards on six receptions; coming out to an average of 19.3 yards per carry. On the run side of the offense, as I predicted last week, RB Aaron Jones had an unstoppable performance. He continued to pound the ball past the defensive line, and gained huge yards after contact. Jones was able to slip past tackles for additional yards. In total he had 110 yards in 16 carries.
Playcalling
I guess Belicheck decided to keep the defensive setup relatively the same as what we’ve seen all season. Once again, we saw a majority of one safety back with three linebackers in zone coverage. In this design, the cornerbacks drop off ten yards, aiming to cover the deep ball. Although this setup was relatively efficient at mitigating the long ball, it lacked in flat coverage and run defense. When the linebackers
Later in the game, we saw a majority of five or six man blitzes from the Patriots that emphasized the run defense. In this setup, we saw one linebacker go in for the blitz, and the remaining two covering the ‘B’ gaps in zone, covering the hook and middle curl. This setup was ideal for putting pressure on Aaron Rodgers, and was able to completely shut down the run-heavy offense, as shown below.
Wish the Patriots ran this defense more. Really helped shut down the run pic.twitter.com/bUJjFZBvc8 — Gabriel Pope (@UrPatsFan) October 4, 2022
Though the Patriots’ defense had many impressive plays, there were too many times when they (a) did not run to the ball or (b) were unable to get to the motion fast enough. There were also frequent occurrences of sloppy tackling on evasive RB Aaron Jones.
I get that he’s fast, but we needed to do a better job of covering him up. The main reason the Packers were able to defeat us was because of their consistent offensive presence. They were able to continually gain five or six yards on each run, and that really punished us throughout the entirety of the game.
I wish Belichick or the Patriots’ defensive coordinators had paid more attention to the run defense this week. It seemed as if the defensive line and linebackers were continually locked out of the play, making huge gaps for Jones to work with. On the plays when the defense was able to apply strong pressure on the offensive line, we saw much better pressure and coverage on the RB.
If I were to be the defensive coordinator of the Patriots, I would have emphasized blitz and screen coverage much more in order to shut down Jones. His presence on the offense was one of the most key factors of the Packers win, and I think that we would have greatly benefited from more five man blitzes.
An example of what happens when you don’t put pressure on Aaron Jones. pic.twitter.com/mRlnnmu1xZ — Gabriel Pope (@UrPatsFan) October 4, 2022
Key Players
On the defensive side of the ball, my two picks for Patriots players of the game would have to be rookies Jack Jones and Marcus Jones (not related). Both of them were important players in limiting the score and represented talent found in most veteran players.
Jack Jones’ afternoon of firsts included his first NFL start, first NFL score, first NFL fumble recovery, and first NFL interception during the Patriots’ away game against the Green Bay Packers (pick-six).
It made no difference that he was facing off against one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the position. In a hostile setting, the rookie entered the game against the Packers and appeared to be a true lockdown corner. This week, he outperformed colleague Jonathan Jones in terms of PFF grading, becoming the highest-graded cornerback in the league (88.5). Even though it was only his first NFL start, keep in mind that the sample size is smaller, it’s still encouraging for the Patriots’ fourth-round selection pick. According to NESN’s Zack Cox, Jack ranked first among eligible rookie defenders, and his 94.9 Week Four coverage grade was the “fifth-highest single mark by a rookie corner in the PFF era.”
Pick-6 for the rookie Jack Jones! @presidentjacc pic.twitter.com/e2MjskAD5M — Patriots Nation (@PatsNationTM) October 2, 2022
Despite all the controversy surrounding coach Bill Belichick’s poor draft decisions, it appears like he may have hit the jackpot with Jack Jones.
Rookie kickoff and punt returner (and cornerback) Marcus Jones also had a great game. He outperformed Myles Bryant as a kick returner by doing an outstanding job on both kickoff returns and punt returns, building on nine return touchdowns in college. He averaged 27.8 yards per return on four kickoff returns for a total of 111 yards. In addition, he returned two punts for a total of 49 yards, averaging 24.5 yards per return. In the return game, Jones gave the Patriots 160 yards. As long as Bryant stays on the roster, he might not play defense in 2022, but there’s a chance he could have a great season as a returner.
What Should We Expect In Detroit
In their week three loss against the Seahawks, the Lions were missing important receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and D.J. Chark, as well as running back D’Andre Swift. Despite this, Detroit scored 45 points and gained 520 yards without them. Given the absences, that ranks among the NFL season’s most remarkable offensive days. They have put together a talented group and an excellent offensive line.
Among the greatest at their positions are tight end T.J. Hockenson, Swift, and St. Brown. At some point this season, they’ll even add playmaking first-round receiver Jameson Williams, who suffered an ACL tear last year. The way it’s all being managed by Jared Goff is excellent. The play calling has proven to be highly successful, using a run to pass ratio of 58.1%. Although the team’s high-scoring offense was effective, it was unable to compensate for Detroit’s poor defense, which let the Seahawks score more points in one game than they had in their previous three combined.
With three extremely important Lions offensive players unlikely to play against the Pats, it’ll be interesting to see how they adjust. Even with Swift out, the Lions still had an impressive run game led by Jamaal Williams. Williams was able to run the ball for 108 yards, averaging around six yards per carry. The T.J. Hockenson led receiving core of the Lions and was also able to rack up serious yards, with Hockenson accumulating 179 yards on eight receptions. Overall, the offense of the Lions is one that should not be taken lightly by Belichick and the defense as a whole.
Links To Our Socials, Other Articles & Paid Job Opportunities
Follow us on Twitter @StadiumRantHQ & @GilletteGazette. Like Our Facebook Page. Check out our other articles @The Gillette Gazette & Stadium Rant. Are you an NFL fan? Have some takes you want to get out into the world? This is the place because we have plenty of opportunities at Stadium Rant spanning the whole NFL and more!
Comments