What's next for the Patriots defense after Sunday's debacle vs. Dolphins?
FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots had another debacle of a game Sunday in Miami, leaving Jerod Mayo and his coaching staff searching for answers. While we were expected the team's offense to be a work in progress for much of the season, it's the issues plaguing the New England defense that are causing the most concerns about the future of the franchise.
Mayo is a defensive-minded coach and the Patriots were supposed to have a pretty good defense this season. But the dreams of a Top 10 D have turned into a nightmare, and New England's defensive ineptitude was on display throughout Sunday's 34-15 demolition by the Dolphins.
The Patriots had no answers for Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who carved them apart for 317 passing yards and four touchdowns. Somehow, the Patriots managed to take a step back from Week 11 when they were torched by the L.A. Rams at Gillette Stadium, surrendering 373 total yards to the Miami offense on Sunday.
While top corner Christian Gonzalez did a solid job on Tyreek Hill, every other Dolphin feasted on the Patriots defense at Hard Rock Stadium. Tua had all the time in the world to operate, and the Dolphins had 16 plays that went for 10 or more yards on Sunday.
"We gave up too many big plays defensively," Mayo said after the loss. "Gave up too many big plays tackling, scheme, whatever you want to call it. Overall, execution defensively wasn't good enough."
The game was still scoreless after the first quarter, but the second stanza was pure agony for the New England defense. Miami broke off eight of their 10 biggest plays of the day as Tagovailoa connected on 14 of his 20 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns in the quarter.
Patriots defense had communication issues in Miami
The Dolphins used lots of pre-snap motion to keep the Patriots defense on its heels, and it led to a lot of open space for the Miami offense. Tagovailoa always had an open man and he always seemed to find them, whether it was Jaylen Waddle (8 receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown), former Patriot Jonnu Smith (9 receptions, 87 yards and a touchdown) or pass-catching back De'Von Achane (3 receptions, 24 yards and two touchdowns).
Waddle had a 24-yard catch, Hill had one go for 20 yards, and Smith added a 14-yard reception. Tagovailoa averaged 7.3 yards per pass on the afternoon. Achane had the entire right side of the field to himself on one of his touchdowns, as the Patriots' D -- namely safety Kyle Dugger -- bit hard on Miami's pre-snap motion.
Mayo said the coverage issues that plagued his squad stemmed from problems with their communication on the field.
"They used motion and shifts and things like that to stress the communication, and we just weren't on the same page," said Mayo.
Dugger, who looked like more of a spectator than a defender on three of Miami's touchdowns, said that the team wasn't communicating "the right way" on Sunday.
"That's basically just beating ourselves, it doesn't have anything to do with them," said Dugger. "They are who they are and they're talented, but a lot of the issues in the first half was us beating ourselves and miscommunicating."
Gonzalez was hobbled by a hip injury but still had a solid afternoon overall, highlighted by his 62-yard fumble return for a touchdown. But other than Gonzalez, there were very few bright spots for the New England defense in Week 12.
New England's pass rush has disappeared
Christian Barmore registered his first sack of the season, which is a feel-good story from Sunday's game after the defensive lineman missed the first 10 weeks of the season with blood clots. The Patriots also dialed up the "long horn" in the second half and special-teamer Brenden Schooler recorded his second sack of the season.
But that was it from the New England pass rush on Sunday. Those were the defense's first sacks since Week 10's win over the Chicago Bears, when the Patriots sacked Caleb Williams nine times.
That sack-filled win over the Bears was just two weeks ago, but it feels like a distant memory. And that one game makes up a third of New England's sack total this season. Only 11 teams in the NFL have fewer than New England's 27 sacks this season.
With two sacks on the year, Schooler now ranks fourth on the Patriots behind Deatrich Wise and Keion White (both with five) and Anferenee Jennings (2.5 sacks). The Patriots need a lot more from their pass rush.
Now what for the New England Patriots?
"For me, there's nowhere but up," said Mayo. "A lot of that stuff goes back to the big play, it starts there."
"We go forward," Dugger said of the team's approach the rest of the way. "We watch the film and get better. We're not going to run and hide. We need to move forward, we have to get better, we have to be honest with ourselves, each individual. We have to have that accountability and keep grinding."
"We don't ever want the game not to be competitive. We always strive to make the game competitive, and it wasn't today," said Gonzalez. "But it's not going to affect how we finish out the season. We still got five more games to go out there and compete and do what we do as a defense."
To their credit, the Patriots didn't quit after giving up 24 points in the second quarter. They actually came out and played hard in the second half, and seemed to have a better nose for the ball and a lot more gusto when it came to their tackling.
But there is no guarantee they'll build off that going forward. The Patriots have yet to carry over any momentum from week to week this season, and when one thing tends to go right, four other things go wrong.
Pulling out to the big picture, Sunday's loss shows just how much work this defense is going to need in the offseason. Gonzalez is a legit No. 1 corner, but the Patriots are going to need another running mate for him given Marcus Jones' struggles with bigger receivers. Veteran Jonathan Jones is also a free agent after this season, and the Pats don't have much depth behind those three.
Losing Ja'Whaun Bentley has been huge, but also highlights New England's lack of depth at linebacker. Free-agent signing Sione Takitaki hasn't worked out, which has put a lot of stress on the middle of the defense. Along the front, the Patriots need to add some more pass-rushing punch to the mix.
Unfortunately, the personnel is just part of the issue. Mayo will very likely be getting a second season, but defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington's seat is getting awfully hot given the defense's performance over the last two weeks -- and their lackluster impact overall this season. And Mayo himself needs to take a long look in the mirror; it might be time to have a bigger hand in the defense on Sunday's rather than this CEO approach.
The Patriots defense was seen as a strength coming into the year, but it has become a glaring weakness. Now it looks like both the offense and the defense are going to need major overhauls in the offseason.
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