The Patriots’ offense has caught a ton of flak this season, and deservedly so. The unit, even with the emergence of Drake Maye, has struggled to consistently move the football and put up points.
But when it comes to criticism of New England, the defense deserves to be picked apart as well.
After serving as a relative bright spot for the 2023 Patriots, the team’s defense took a significant step back in the first season under Jerod Mayo and DeMarcus Covington. New England dealt with a tough schedule in 2024, but it also was carved up by weaker opponents like the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans.
If you ask one NFL offensive coordinator, the defensive shortcomings simply were a product of inferior personnel.
“The scheme defensively isn’t bad,” the anonymous coordinator told NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry. “We’ve seen worse. Their problem is they have one good player (Christian Gonzalez). A bunch of those guys who’ve played good football for them in the past just aren’t themselves right now.”
The coordinator’s assessment makes it tough to be optimistic about New England’s future. It’s not difficult to argue that as it stands, the Patriots’ only legitimate franchise building blocks are Maye and Gonzalez.
As such, it’s imperative for New England to have a productive offseason, both in the draft and the free agency/trade markets.
