FOXBORO, Mass. -- The roster is bad and the product on the field is ugly. There's no question. Injuries have piled up for the New England Patriots, too. Those are impossible to overlook despite the fact every team is forced to deal with them.
But the loss to the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Sunday proved more than that.
New England's offense was gifted advantageous field position after an interception and blocked punt. The Patriots turned those into just seven points. Meanwhile, the Dolphins had a punt blocked, a botched snap on a field goal halt an attempt and a separate bad snap which took them out of field goal range.
It's difficult to believe the Patriots lost 15-10 to third-string quarterback Tyler Huntley despite all that, but it's true.
Of all the concerning things that took place, though, Jerod Mayo's coaching staff might sit atop the list. And not just because the group took 12 penalties for 105 yards. The offensive plan, specifically was questionable. New England threw the ball 34 times compared to 19 runs. The Patriots got away from their strengths in key moments.
"Look, there are definitely things that I have to do better as a head coach," Mayo said. "I would say the staff, they're still – they're getting on the same page, and once again, like I said earlier, it's about getting better every week, and that goes to communication between the staff and then obviously I have to do a better job as a whole."
The Patriots had a legitimate chance to win in crunch time. They advanced to Miami's 12-yard line with 1:08 left in regulation. New England did so following an 11-yard rush by Rhamondre Stevenson and 10-yard run by Antonio Gibson. Those two runs helped the Patriots boost their average to 7.9 yards (!) per rush in the game. It was a franchise record, per the Boston Herald's Doug Kyed.
Alex Van Pelt's offense then proceeded to throw the ball on four consecutive plays, including an overturned touchdown by Ja'Lynn Polk. Why? The Patriots needed 12 yards and had all three timeouts. Why not run the ball, especially considering the well-documented struggles of the offensive line? New England concluded with 4.1 yards per pass attempt -- their rushing average nearly double.
It was perplexing at best and game-costing at worst.
"There were a bunch of conversations about that," Mayo said when asked if they considered running the ball from the 12-yard line. "We ended up throwing the ball. That's what we decided to do, and ultimately it's my decision. I would say we averaged over seven yards a carry, I'm not sure, so that definitely was part of the discussion. We just didn't finish it up."
It wasn't the only such decision, though. There also was the end of the first half.
The Patriots started a drive from their own 5-yard line with 1:43 left in the first half. Stevenson took a handoff for eight yards on the first snap, which helped New England advance run the clock down to 1:09. Rather than run the clock out, though, the Patriots threw two consecutive incompletions. Again, why? New England then punted on fourth-and-2 with 55 seconds left.
The Dolphins were in prime position to add points and cut their deficit. They had first-and-10 at the New England 28-yard line with 42 seconds before the half. A more competent offense would have tacked on a few more yards and converted at least a field goal. Instead, Miami threw three incompletions and failed to execute a special teams snap.
Fortunately for Mayo and company, they didn't give up any points like they did during a nearly identical situation against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2. That was the good news. The bad news is that Mayo, who has stressed the importance of not repeating mistakes, didn't learn from his own.
In a season that's going nowhere fast, the Patriots need signs of optimism for the future. Thus far, Mayo and the coaching staff have not been among them.
