The Weekly Drake-down
I spoke last week about how the previous week’s Dolphins game was a tough one to assess Drake Maye’s performance in. This one was pretty easy.
This kid is special, and this game cemented for me that the New England Patriots need to surround him with talent as quickly as they can.
He has the ability to take them all the way. I have no more to say this week, other than I am 100% sold!
Self-Inflicted Wounds
The Patriots beat themselves on Sunday, and this tweet highlights exactly how badly they did so:
The @Patriots…
– Outgained IND 422-253
– Won turnover battle
– Won TOP by almost 9 minutes
– Avg 6.5 yds/play to IND 4.4
– Punted 1x
– Completed 80% of their passes
– Converted 6/11 on 3rd down… and STILL managed to lose.
A staggering display of coaching incompetence.
— Displaced Bostonian (@Ironhead334) December 1, 2024
When a team loses by a single point, every play is often scrutinised, but few games will have had as many clear cut mistakes as this one.
Let us make our way through a few of them.
First up, Joey Slye missed a 25-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in the half. This is the shortest miss of the year, and three points thrown away.
Next up, the Patriots offensive line were flagged for nine penalties last week and continued that trend with five holding calls in the first half. One of which negated a touchdown when Mike Onwenu was called for holding as Rhamondre Stevenson hit the endzone. That drive ended in a field goal instead of a touchdown, so that is four more points gone begging.
Thirdly, and despite having very strong games, Hunter Henry and Drake Maye had perhaps the most costly mistake between them.
On a redzone stop route, Henry sat on the one-yard line. As Maye drove the ball slightly too far inside, which Henry dropped, and the less-than-perfect ball placement allowed the Colts linebacker to make a play on the ball and knock it out of Henry’s hands. It turned a would-be touchdown into an interception. That is six more points up in smoke.
And finally, another offensive error in the redzone. The Patriots attempted to run a mesh concept, which saw two wide receivers run drag routes from either side of the formation to widen the linebackers and allow space for Henry to be wide open.
This, however, was scuppered by Kendrick Bourne, one of the receivers on a drag route. Bourne cut off his route early directly in front of Henry, which allowed the Colts linebacker to cover both players. It saved yet another six points for the Colts.
These kind of self-inflicted errors are a concern and becoming a common occurrence for the Pats.
On Sunday those more mistakes cost the Patriots at least 19 points. They need to use the bye to sort them up.
