Patriots' offense has rough day of practice vs. Raiders
BOSTON -- Through about a month of training camp and preseason, the theme of the Patriots has been consistent: They're having a tough time on offense.
The struggle continued on Tuesday, with the Patriots practicing in the desert heat with the Las Vegas Raiders. And by some accounts, the Mac Jones/Matt Patricia offense looked as bad as it has all summer -- at least up until the end of practice.
The Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan described the session as "the most troublesome offensive practice of summer."
NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry noted that Mac Jones was pacing on the sideline after the third 11-on-11 drill, in which Jones threw an interception and the Patriots' offense struggled mightily.
NESN's Zack Cox said the offense was "really scuffling out here," The Athletic's Chad Graff said "the offense was especially bad," and Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard called it the "worst offensive practice of camp."
Clearly the Raiders, coming off a 10-7 season and a playoff performance, have presented a bit more of a challenge than the Carolina Panthers did a week ago.
Still, Jones and Co. managed to salvage the practice -- somewhat -- by putting something positive together in a two-minute drill to end the session.
Bedard said the final two-minute drive from the Patriots was "really strong," and Callahan echoed that notion.
The strong ending of course provides some reason for positivity within the Patriots. But everything that happened beforehand certainly won't help quell concerns about an offense that lost a ton of coaching experience and has some serious question marks hovering as the season rapidly approaches.
After another joint practice session on Wednesday, the two teams will meet for their final preseason game on Friday night, the final tune-up for the regular season.
