The Patriots seem to be at another inflection point.
Earlier this season, head coach Jerod Mayo said his team played soft in an overseas loss to the Jaguars. The comment lit a fire under his team, and they took down the Jets at home the following week.
This time, New England suffered another ugly defeat in Miami’s house of horrors. The Dolphins dropped 24 points in the second quarter alone, essentially dooming any chance of a Patriots victory by halftime. Players insist they were prepared before the game, and Mayo felt his team was locked in during their Saturday meetings. But both Mayo and his players acknowledged a lack of focus during the matchup.
In his Monday presser, the head coach confirmed personnel changes could be on the horizon due to some particularly poor efforts. This isn’t new for the new-look Patriots, who have already cut linebacker Raekwon McMillan, cornerback Marco Wilson, and center Nick Leverett after strings of bad games.
Whether we ultimately see full-on benchings or simply reduced roles, here are the players who could be on the hot seat for New England this week against the Colts.
KYLE DUGGER
New England gave up seven completions of 15+ yards and four passing touchdowns for the second week in a row on Sunday. Tua Tagovailoa’s 128.9 passer rating was also the 2nd-highest allowed by the defense this season, eclipsed only by Matthew Stafford’s 146.6 rating in Week 11.
“Yeah, it was very disappointing, especially when you play an offense that is very similar to the offenses we played earlier,” Mayo told reporters on Monday. “Then once you get into the Red Area, communication has to be on point. The field’s getting shorter, there’s less space, there’s more movement, and it was definitely disappointing.”
One player never loses a game, but Kyle Dugger had by far the roughest outing among Patriots defenders. The team captain missed three straight games due to an ankle injury, and he’s struggled since returning against LA. After missing three tackles in Week 11, Dugger took another massive step back against the Dolphins.
“I would say we just weren’t communicating the right way,” Dugger said after the game. “That’s basically just beating ourselves, it doesn’t have anything to do with them. They are who they are and they are talented, but a lot of the issues in the first half was us beating ourselves and miscommunicating, things like that.”
Dugger did seem to be affected by his injury on Jaylen Waddle’s long touchdown, but most of the safety’s mistakes seemed like mental errors.
There were multiple snaps where he either didn’t adjust properly to pre-snap motion, was punished for poor eye discipline on play-fakes, or simply failed to execute his assignment. Dugger was also flagged for an ugly pass interference while covering Jonnu Smith.
Jaylinn Hawkins, Dell Pettus, and Marte Mapu have been far from perfect, with Mapu being particularly streaky in year two. That said, they were solid as a group while Dugger was out, even receiving a game ball for their Week 8 win against the Jets. Give Dugger time to heal, get his mind right, and hopefully return to 2022 form.
DEMONTREY JACOBS
Demontrey Jacobs was thrust into a starting role in Week 4 due to a combination of injuries and poor line play. The former Broncos practice squadder has faced elite edge rushers on a near-weekly basis, and for the most part, he held his own as well as one could expect.
Unfortunately, Jacobs has struggled significantly over the past two weeks. Sunday’s performance may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, as PFF charged him with a whopping ten pressures allowed before Jacobs was benched for Sidy Sow early in the 4th quarter.
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Jacobs fits what the Patriots like in their linemen as a developmental swing option. He’s long, athletic, smart, and has big hands to disrupt pass rushers early. But he also lacks the NFL experience and time in Scott Peters’ system needed to maximize his gifts. Sow is far from a guarantee at right tackle, which could be seen on some quick whiffs in limited action. Still, New England needs to see what it has as the season comes to a close, and Sow’s absence in the starting five has felt odd, to say the least.
MIKE JORDAN
Under most circumstances, I’d recommend Vederian Lowe be benched for his flag-filled outing in Miami. The left tackle has blown away expectations this season, proving to be a solid pass protector under Peters. But penalties have crept up for Lowe throughout this season, with Sunday being the most egregious example yet.
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Watching live, Lowe also appeared to give up two ugly sacks, including a strip of Drake Maye. But upon further review, I believe Mike Jordan failed to pass off a twist on the first and blocked Rhamondre Stevenson’s defender on the second. Mayo also acknowledged depth concerns when asked about potential benchings on The Greg Hill Show this morning.
Unlike safety and right tackle, the Patriots’ options behind Lowe are virtually non-existent, especially if Jacobs remains on the bench. Jordan has also been a more consistent liability. Some of that is due to an ankle injury that limited the left guard in practice, but he’s wildly inconsistent as a run blocker and struggles against schemed pressure every week.
No timeline exists (that we know of) for Cole Strange’s return to the game field from a torn patellar tendon. Coaches have also hinted he could play center after working extensively with David Andrews. But Ben Brown, while not an ideal starter, is far from the front’s biggest problem.
Putting Strange back at left guard would bring more physicality and athleticism to the spot, and he showed improvement against more exotic rushes last year before suffering his injury. Whether they’re at their most natural spots or not, it would serve New England well to get as much tape as possible on Strange and Sow before this offseason.
