Things are bleak and other leftover Patriots thoughts

BOSTON -- Six. To nothing.

Six-zero.

Seis a cero.

That really happened.

Wow.

A day later, it's still a lot to digest. The Patriots played an entire football game and never possessed the ball beyond the Chargers' 30-yard line. They managed to keep the Chargers from ever crossing the New England 20-yard line, which was an accomplishment, no doubt.

Yet despite a close game in theory, the game never felt all that winnable for the Patriots -- not after Rhamondre Stevenson departed with a serious-looking ankle injury on New England's second drive. Prior to the injury, Stevenson looked primed to get 25 carries, 100-plus yards, and a touchdown or two. The Patriots had gained 59 yards on that second drive, with Stevenson accounting for 37 of them.

They gained 38 yards total on their next four drives.

Clearly, the Patriots just don't have an answer. They tried Bailey Zappe, and while he was let down by Tyquan Thornton and DeVante Parker being unable to haul in two well-thrown deep balls ... 

... he also missed some really basic throws that NFL quarterbacks should be making at a near-100 percent clip.

It's just ... unfathomable. Bill O'Brien was brought in with the simple task of being better at running an offense than Matt Patricia was a year ago. He hasn't been able to do it. Whether it's due to coaching or the players themselves, the team has taken two quarterbacks that have looked different shades of capable in the past and turned them into ... this. They're now directionless. They elevate Malik Cunningham, only to not use him at all. That's after signing him before another game, only to barely use him. They don't announce starting quarterbacks. They don't trust their rookie kicker, whom they drafted and who's missed two relative chip shots. They get hot-and-cold streaks from their rookie punter, whom they drafted. Even before Kendrick Bourne was injured, they lacked true game-changing offensive talent in a league driven by it. 

Yet through it all, after each loss, Bill Belichick has stressed how close the Patriots were to winning.

"With the exception of two games, really, we had an opportunity in every game," Belichick said on WEEI on Monday morning. "And yesterday was another one where we had a chance with the ball at the end of the game, and we weren't able to get the points we needed to get ahead or to win."  

He added: "I mean, we've been in a lot of close games. We haven't won 'em. So that's what we are. Could those games have gone differently? How far away are those from being different outcomes? I don't know. They are what they are. Been a lot of close games."

Yes. That is kind of the point. They don't have an offense that's capable of winning close games. So even though games are "close" ... they really aren't.

It all begs two questions. One, where do they go from here? And two ... can things possibly get worse?

The first one ... who can really say? But the second? Absolutely! 

But we'll get to that in due time. For now, with a short week coming, let's hit the leftover thoughts from the Patriots' 6-0 loss -- SIX-TO-NOTHING LOSS!!!!! -- to the Los Angeles Chargers.

--One thing that can't be happening in WEEK 13 of the season? All of the unforced errors. 

The Patriots had 12 men in the huddle when substituting Conor McDermott in for Trent Brown on their second drive of the game, turning a second-and-9 into a second-and-14.

Bailey Zappe took a delay of game penalty while standing in the shotgun and never once looking up at the play clock, turning a third-and-6 into a third-and-11.

DeVante Parker got flagged for a false start, turning a moderately impossible third-and-11 into a definitely-impossible third-and-15. (Zappe then threw the previously shown inaccurate pass to Ezekiel Elliott on the long third down, leading to a punt.)

On a third-and-2 run, the trio of Trent Brown, Cole Strange, and David Andrews combined to block zero defenders ... on a run to the left side.

Four different Chargers could have stopped that play behind the line of scrimmage.

On the play when Stevenson got injured, two Chargers were in the backfield and beat the running back to the line of scrimmage. JuJu Smith-Schuster got away with a hold, which didn't even help the situation.

Forget the physical mistakes or the limitations on talent. These are more or less administrative errors. They're indicative of a bad football team. A losing football team. They've been happening with more frequency in recent years but they're obviously mounting this year like never before.

--While Bailey Zappe definitely deserved for at least one of his deep shots to DeVante Parker or Tyquan Thornton to be caught, he's also an inaccurate passer. Period.

His first pass of the game was behind Parker:

His pass to Hunter Henry while rolling right was well behind the tight end:

He doesn't have the quickest release, and he tends to telegraph his passes. (That's why he was picked off last week in New York.)

His second-longest completion came on an inaccurate screen pass.

More or less, when everyone (including myself) said that Zappe didn't look too hot on the practice fields in training camp, they weren't lying. Based on Mac Jones' regression, O'Brien's coaching clearly isn't helping either quarterback. But some physical limitations will always be there with Zappe, and they were on display on Sunday.

--Zappe's passer rating has gone from a 100.9 last year (on 92 pass attempts) to 50.2 this year (on 64 pass attempts). He also took just six sacks last year, and he's taken seven this year, despite taking 72 fewer snaps.

What I'm trying to say, I guess, is that Matt Patricia was apparently an offensive coaching legend. Mea culpa on that one.

--Hey, speaking of training camp reports, remember Marte Mapu? He was, on some days, the story of camp. Though he had a red non-contact jersey, he was everywhere. He looked like Ed Reed, flying around, two-hand tapping everyone who dared cross the middle of the field. The rookie hybrid linebacker/safety out of Sacramento State looked like he belonged.

Then ... the pads came on, the season started, and we haven't seen too many positives from Mapu, who seemingly blew the coverage on a 26-yard catch-and-run by Gerald Everett.

Mapu took just three defensive snaps on Sunday, after getting zero in New York and four in Germany against the Colts. He's been on the field for just 19.4 percent of the team's defensive plays this season.

It provides, at the very least, a cautionary tale about training camp stars. (And man, he really was a training camp star.)

--The defense, overall, did a splendid job. Sure, they benefitted from some drops. And maybe the wet playing field helped neutralize the talent gap. But they covered well. Jonathan Jones used his helmet to break up a pass. That was cool. They held Justin Herbert to 212 yards, his third-lowest passing total of the season. They held the Chargers to a comical 29 rushing yards. There really aren't too many complaints about the defense, aside from not forcing turnovers and not scoring defensive touchdowns.

That level of play figures to continue Thursday, when they face Mitchell Trubisky on a short week. That means, since facing Josh Allen and Tua Tagovailoa in back-to-back weeks, four of the five opposing quarterbacks faced by the Patriots over this recent stretch will be Sam Howell, Gardner Minshew, Tommy DeVito, and Mitchell Trubisky. If they come out of that with zero wins ... well, they most likely will come out of that with zero wins. It's still difficult to digest.

--Bryce Baringer launched a 70-yard bomb of a punt ... but also a 26-yard dud. It's been easy, at times, to see the leg strength that made the Patriots want to draft him in the sixth round. But consistency has been an issue.

--Meanwhile, in the land of rookie kicker Chad Ryland:

That warmup factored into the Patriots going for it on a fourth-and-5 from the Chargers' 30-yard line while trailing by six points in the fourth quarter.

"Kicking conditions weren't great out there today, especially on those long field goals," Belichick said postgame. "They were tough in pregame. So, no, we thought we had a better chance -- I think it would have been a tough kick."

Not being able to attempt 48-yard field goals -- due to the kicker missing 38-yarders in good conditions in consecutive games -- is a hindrance to the team's scoring that shouldn't go without mention.

--Just to complete the special teams analysis, Myles Bryant had zero punt return yards on two attempts, and Jalen Reagor muffed a kickoff return. Even if the Patriots had the best special teams units in the league, they'd still struggle to win games. But they do not have the best special teams units in the league, and that's not really helping matters.

--If you're into the "race" for the No. 1 pick, it could end up being pretty compelling. The Panthers don't own their pick, and they're trying to establish Bryce Young in the league. They could win any of their three remaining divisional games, including next week in New Orleans and at home in Week 18 against the Bucs, whom they almost beat on Sunday. (Sort of.)

The Patriots, meanwhile, could definitely lose out. They'll be underdogs for every game except Week 18, when they host the Jets.

They probably won't lose all five remaining games to end the season on a 10-game losing streak, because that doesn't really happen all too often in the NFL. Bad teams still win games. (See: "New England 29, Buffalo 25" in late October of this year.) But at the same time ... it's hard to feel as though the Patriots can win any game without scoring on defense and special teams. 

Most of us in New England have not monitored the chase for the top pick so closely. We used to get to observe Tom Brady playing football. That was better. Anyways. 

See you Thursday night in PIttsburgh, baby!!