Patriots' Young Stars Show Out Amidst Injury Riddled Start
The Patriots wrapped up week 2 of the NFL season this past Sunday (9/20) vs. The Pittsburgh Steelers with their first win of the season. The team ended their home opener with a score of 20-3, but the bounce back win was not up to the Foxboro Faithful’s expectations by any means. The offense scraped together points early, similar to their week 1 performance by jumping out to a 10-0 lead going into halftime.
Unfortunately, the Pats didn't escape the first half unscathed though, RG Michael Onwenu went down with a gruesome looking ankle injury. The injury is feared to be season ending after he was rolled up by Pittsburgh’s star edge rusher T.J. Watt late in the first quarter. Onwenu has been a staple on the offensive line for the Patriots since 2020, and his injury adds to the growing list for New England. New England has been riddled with injuries lately, losing Craig Woodson (Shoulder), A.J. Brown (Ankle Sprain), Dre’Mont Jones (Foot), and Carlton Davis (Neck).
With Dre’Mont Jones’ injury occurring at an already weak edge rusher position, the injury left Gabe Jacas (Rookie) and Elijah Ponder (2nd Year) to take the grunt of the workload, and they stepped up to handle it exceptionally. Jacas looked solid for his second career game, finishing the game with three tackles, one QB hit, a pass deflection, and an interception. The interception earned him high praise from Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers post-game telling him, “Great f’ing job”. Ponder capped off the game with a 19-yard fumble return touchdown, putting the game out of reach for Pittsburgh.
Another second-year player, TreVeyon Henderson, showed out on the offense in his first game back from an ankle injury by kicking on the afterburners to score on a 39-yard touchdown run.
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Coming out of this matchup, the defense, if they stay healthy, looks like a potential top five unit. The combination of veterans, rookies and new additions on defense are melding well and making their impact felt. The Pats defense has only let up the fourth least yards in the league with 260, and they have allowed the fewest touchdowns so far. The only one to sneak by them is Jaxson Smith-Njigba of the Seahawks in Week 1. On the other hand, the offense has been lackluster, to say the least, compared to last season.
The question to be asked here is where do the issues lie? First things first, the Drake Maye inconsistencies are concerning, and the offense will not be able to succeed or compete at a winning level until that is fixed. In my opinion, the main issue lies in the offensive gameplan being predictable and bland. Ever since opposing teams started using zone heavy and cover 6 defenses, they've limited the dynamics of Maye’s homerun deep ball ability. This limitation forces him to go through his progressions and make intermediate completions. Both Seattle and Pittsburgh utilized these coverages, which were successful when combined with pressuring Maye.
The inconsistent play on the offensive line and injuries further contributed to Maye’s challenges. It seemed that Maye recognized the defensive game plan and used his rushing ability more in Week 2. The rushing didn't aid his final stat line though, as he recorded his first 3 interception game of his young NFL career in the opening week of the season.
Looking ahead to the Patriots' next opponent, they're shipping down to Jacksonville to play the 1-1 Jaguars. Their opponents are led by Rhode Island native Head Coach Liam Coen accompanied by his Quarterback Trevor Lawrence and their high-powered offense.
This matchup will have a competitive focus on the defensive side as both defensive fronts are top 10 in the NFL. Whichever team comes out on top will be the side that is able to capitalize off turnovers and penalties. According to BetMGM sports book, the Jaguars are a –2.5-point favorite which makes sense due to the laundry list of injuries the Patriots have.
My Take? For this Week 3 Matchup, it's going to be a close game with the Pats coming out on top 20-14. I expect New England will run a similar conservative offensive gameplan and another breakaway Henderson touchdown feels imminent, while they rely on Christian Gonzalez and the defense to shut down Jacksonville’s offensive attack. The Jags are more than likely to utilize the cover 6 defense that Maye has struggled against thus far, and it's inevitable that they will produce pressure with Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker, and Devon Lloyd all in the box. This is a game Vrabel, Maye, and the Patriots would not want to drop with a showdown in Buffalo looming next week.
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