Bill Belichick Highlights Patriots Week 1 Struggles In Red Zone: 'Not Good Enough'
BOSTON (CBS) -- You could point to a number of things that did not go right for the Patriots in the team's Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins. The majority of their issues were self-inflicted, from the eight penalties they were flagged for to the four times they put the football on the ground.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was still disappointed with his team's play Monday morning when he made his weekly appearance on WEEI's The Greg Hill Show. He once again said that "everything" needs to be better going forward, but highlighted New England's poor execution in situational football.
One area he was extremely disappointed with was the team's play in the red zone, both on offense and on defense. The offense scored just one touchdown when inside the 20 while settling for two field goals. Jakobi Meyers had a third-down drop to end New England's penultimate drive of the game with the team at the Miami 15, and the Pats had to send out Nick Folk to make it 17-16 instead of taking a lead. Damien Harris fumbled away the final possession at the Miami 9-yard line with 3:31 to go, which essentially sealed the win for the Dolphins.
Defensively, the Patriots let the Dolphins score on each of their possessions inside the 20. Miami started the game with an 80-yard touchdown drive that saw Tua Tagovailoa take it in himself from three yards out. The Dolphins started the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with Tua hitting Jaylen Waddle for a short score.
"Most of the games in this league come down to one possession. That's what this league is," Belichick said Monday morning. "You've got to be able to play well in those situations. Obviously, we didn't play very well in the red area yesterday, offensively or defensively. It was not good enough. Ultimately, a point there is a difference in the game."
A touchdown on any of New England's other three red zone possessions -- or a defensive stop on either of Miami's -- would have been the difference in Week 1. Expect the red zone to be a huge emphasis this week as the Patriots prepare for a Week 2 showdown with the New York Jets.
"The things that came up yesterday are going to come up again, so hopefully, we'll be able to execute better the next time they come up," said Belichick. "Miami is a well-coached team. A good football team. They presented some problems for us. If we don't address some of those, I'm sure we'll see them again next week, or down the road from other opponents. ... I'm sure there will be some things that carry over from the Miami game that the Jets will do and there were be plenty of things the Jets do that will be different from Miami."