The 2022 Patriots have become what the Bengals used to be
(Raise your hand for now…)
What about fighting first?
The Patriots have lost 7-8 in four of their last five meetings after losing 22-18 to the Bengals on Christmas Eve. The final score and post-match wailing overshadowed reality. Because the Patriots had ridiculous luck.
Twelve of the Patriots’ 18 points came from highly improbable play after a 22–0 loss in the most ill-advised 30 minutes of football this season. The first was Marcus Jones’ 69-yard interception return when Joe Burrow threw directly at him. The other was a bounced 48-yard touchdown in the 3rd and 29th that ricocheted off the hands of a gentleman named Scotty Washington and went into the hands of Jacobi Myers.
I don’t want to be a lump of human coal. There were some very strong examples. The return of Marcus Jones was sublime. Matthew Judon’s forced fumble on Ja’Marr Chase was a big play at the crucial moment. Kendrick Bourne and Mack Jones showed the kismet we saw in 2021 when Bourne had 55 catches and 925 yards of scrimmage one chilly afternoon.
Perry: Bourne was a little slow to prove he can
But the Patriots are now the sort of team the Bengals were, and the Bengals are in the class the Patriots have called home for 20 years.
B.After the game, it was mostly asked if this was a “championship team should be able to win if they’re going to achieve what they want” kind of game.
Patriots Talk: 5 Reasons for Cautious Optimism as the Patriots Tumble to the End | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
Barrow’s answer?
“Yes, I would say so. Also, I think the teams that want to win the Super Bowl got away with it a little early.”
Not the disrespect Burrow intended, but it was there. It was there, just as the Patriots came close to winning like Cynthie. It’s like, ‘We should have won by 30 and didn’t have to sweat it out against a team like that.’
The 2022 Patriots are being neglected.
Sunday’s start was unforgivable. And, sadly, the ending was predictable. I don’t know the exact moment when the Patriots became a “maybe this will end up eventually” kind of team. But the argument that they are not stands up to the evidence presented over the past two weeks.
Against Vegas, a historically terrible play sealed the loss. This week was a more pedestrian slow fumble by Ramondre Stevenson. In both cases the explanation was “overkill”.
I can’t speculate on Stevenson’s decision to keep his feet moving. he always does And his advance was not only stopped, but set back. The problem was ball security. Maybe a bit too desperate a case.
Why would a man be desperate and try so hard to make a play? Because he knows the opportunities are fleeting. Do you think the Patriots would have scored a touchdown if Stevenson hadn’t fumbled? After last week’s circus when the Patriots scored the first goal in the Raiders 2? Do you know that you are the team and are 30th (57.14%) in the league in scoring in goal to go situations?
I’m not saying those numbers were dancing like sugarplums in Stevenson’s head. What I’m saying is that players tend to individually melt or “overdo” when they generally lack trust or confidence. This lack of confidence is something he’s worked his way through spring, minicamps, training he camps, preseason and 14 games.
The Patriots don’t know what they’re doing offensively. Evidence submission? They lost tight end Hunter Henry on the third offensive play when they collided with Johnne Smith. It wasn’t a play call. They later lost Smith and Smith was hit twice as he and Bourne ended up huddled together and Mac Jones opened fire on the white mass of humanity.
What about defensive ataboys? come.
After the second play, the Patriots burned timeouts on defense because they didn’t have the right man on the field.
Two plays later, Cincinnati was in the endzone. this Five days after the team lost to the Las Vegas Raiders in the most embarrassing way imaginable, what was the team’s level of check-in?
Apparently.
A friend of mine CBS Boston’s Michael Hurley It was noted that at halftime the Patriots ran 20 non-neal down plays. For one he was 29 yards. One was 11 (barely counting before halftime). 1 was 9, 1 was 6, and 9 was zero or minus yards.
After two drives, Barrow was 9-for-9 with 121 touchdowns. He had 142 yards on offense for the Bengals. The Patriots had six. The Patriots’ response was another aggressive three-and-out.
The Patriots were unprepared from the start. After all, they weren’t good enough. Kind of like the 2022 season.
The Patriots are now 1-4 since Thanksgiving in Arizona, when Kyler Murray tore his ACL on the Cardinals’ first drive. This Patriots team, like the 2019, 2020, and 2021 editions, went from bad to worse as the season progressed, saving the worst of December’s football.
They have become a little Bengali.