Final sequence of failure is perfect picture of Patriots' current state
BOSTON -- Kendrick Bourne had a very good game on Sunday in Las Vegas. The running game with Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott was effective as well.
Outside of that, though, there wasn't much to write home about from the Patriots' offense in their 21-17 loss in Las Vegas. And the final sequence of failure perfectly encapsulated almost all of their issues.
Trailing by just two points and needing only a field goal to win the game, the Patriots got the ball at their own 9-yard line with 2:23 left in the game. They moved the chains with two runs ... but then moved backward 7 yards due to a holding penalty on rookie guard Atonio Mafi.
With Cole Strange out due to injury and Mike Onwenu active but not playing due to injury, the Patriots started two rookies at guard. Compounded by the continued lack of a reliable and experienced right tackle (Vederian Lowe manned the right tackle spot again on Sunday), offensive line remained a major problem plaguing the Patriots.
After the penalty, though, Mac Jones actually made the play necessary to dig the team out of a hole, sending a deep shot up the left sideline to a streaking DeVante Parker. The pass was perfect. Parker dropped it.
The Patriots lacked a No. 1 receiver on Sunday because they've lacked a No. 1 receiver for years and haven't prioritized the position. For that drop to come in that moment was indicative of the Patriots' lack of punch at the critical receiver position.
Perhaps a bit rattled by the missed opportunity, the Patriots failed to snap the ball before the play clock expired on the next play, taking a delay of game penalty. It was the 10th accepted penalty against the Patriots, which cost them 79 yards. The Patriots remain one of the most penalized teams in the NFL.
That set up a third-and-15 at the New England 4-yard line. The Patriots needed two things to happen on this play: They needed receivers to get open downfield, and they needed the protection to fend off a four-man rush. Neither thing happened. With Mike Gesicki whiffing on a chip on premier pass rusher Maxx Crosby on the edge, and with interior rushers Bilal Nichols and Adam Butler running a stunt against the rookie guards, three Raiders got into the pocket to sack Jones for the game-ending safety.
Jones would have had time to deliver a pass initially if someone had gotten open near the line to gain quickly, but with seven defenders dropping into coverage (and with Gesicki stumbling around after his whiffed chip), Jones didn't see a makeable throw.
If Jones had some mobility to his game, perhaps he could have run to the left side and extended the play to try to create a game-saving play. Perhaps. But once Crosby got past Lowe without being touched, a sack was the most likely outcome, no matter which quarterback was in the pocket.
Jones could have hit Stevenson over the middle for a short gain, too. But it also would have set up a fourth-and-long. There's little reason to believe the result would not have been the same.
Penalties. A lack of playmakers. Poor offensive line play. An immobile quarterback.
Just about everything that's lacking for the Patriots was on display in that short sequence of plays for the Patriots. It wasn't hard to see why they're now 1-5.
The Patriots did awaken their offense from its near-three-week slumber with three scoring drives in the game. But in the end, with the game on the line, that offense simply was what it was. And that's not going to win many games.
