Patriots Week 4: Lot’s of Positives in Tough Loss to Tampa

The long-awaited Patriots Week 4 matchup between Bill Belichick and Tom Brady was a game worth watching. The New England Patriots proved their resilience on Sunday night as they brought Tom Brady and the Buccaneers to the brink of a loss.

Was it a tough loss? Of course, it was, but, a lot of positives to take out of this loss though. and because of that, I want to dive into that with the Patriots Week 4 Recap.

The Defense Shined for the Patriots in Week 4.

The biggest takeaway from the Patriot’s Week 4 loss was the defense. Coming off of a brutal week against the New Orleans Saints. A defense looking for an identity and bounce back got just that in Week 4.

They were able to hold a red hot offense to only one touchdown while holding their star quarterback to only no touchdowns. Shutting down a vaunted red zone offense to only one rushing touchdown.

Coach Belichick drew up an absolutely masterful game plan on defense. Chris Godwin was almost non-existent with only 3 catches. The front seven dialed up the pressure on Brady making him throw some unwarranted balls.

Mathew Judon was once again a force to be reckoned with, recording one sack on 4 tackles.

All in all, it was a successful night for the Patriot’s defense.

The Rookie QB Came to Play.

To me, the play of Mac Jones was the biggest positive of the whole night. Coming out of a 3 interception game against New Orleans, Mac wanted to bounce back against a very depleted secondary that was led by a just signed Richard Sherman.

That was a big step for the rookie, he seemed to have thrived when the Patriots moved into the spread and hurry-up offense. Jones was 31 for 40 with 275 yards and two touchdowns. Statistically, the rookie outplayed the veteran Tom Brady.

Jones conducted two 70 plus yard touchdown drives, both of which were out of the spread/hurry-up offense. Jones looked very comfortable despite all the pressure on the offensive line.

The Offensive Line and Run Game once again Fail to Show Up.

Now, before I dive too deep into this, I will say that the running game does not worry me nearly as much as the O-Line. The last two weeks the Patriots have faced the two top-run defenses in the league in New Orleans and Tampa Bay. They ran into an absolute buzz saw rushing wise yesterday. New England ended the day with -1 rushing yards, their leading rusher being WR, Nelson Agholor. Damien Harris had -4 on the day. We will see how they do against a lesser rushing attack in Houston next week before I jump to conclusions on the rushing game.

As for the O-Line, good lord. Mac Jones was hit a total of twelve times Sunday night. It could have been much worse if he was not able to sidestep some of those blitzes. It was also another week without big right tackle, Trent Brown for a third straight week. Brown has only played one series this season since injuring his calf.

Isaiah Wynn was absolutely manhandled Sunday Night, and it seems guys are missing their blocks left and right. Something needs to be changed about this O-Line, I’m hoping a healthy Trent Brown is the answer, but regardless, Isaiah Wynn has really worried me, and it does not seem to be getting better.

Putting the Finishing Touches on Patriots Week 4.

It was a brutal loss, and you could tell by the tone in Belichick’s voice that he really wanted this one. It came down to the very end on a kick that was just 8 inches away from giving them the lead.

Now I absolutely hate giving out moral victories, but, this is one of those times I make an exception. This team played and fought hard until the very end, and we saw some major improvements in the rookie QB.

Now is the time to bounce back, but the loss behind you, and move on to Week 5 against a Texans team that just got blown out of the water 40-0 by the Bills. I know 1-3 seems bad, but the schedule eases up a little for the next couple of weeks, so now is the chance to take advantage and win some games.

–Jeff Hoak (@jeffhoak1)

Featured Photo Credit- Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

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