Mac Jones hoped the Patriots would “flip the switch” and decide it up within the crimson zone in opposition to the Vikings.
The end result?
Another bagel. They went 0-for-3 through the 33-26 Thanksgiving evening loss, which didn’t enhance their standing ranked as thirty first within the league in that division. To date, they solely have 12 touchdowns in 31 crimson zone journeys (38.7%) this season.
To beat the nice groups, with the Buffalo Bills now on deck, the Patriots can’t proceed to accept area objectives. They must put touchdowns on the board after they’re contained in the 20-yard line.
While it was penalties and sacks that largely damage them the earlier recreation in opposition to the Jets, Thursday evening’s failure in opposition to the Vikings ranged from move safety points, puzzling play-calls, to an absence of execution.
Overall throughout their three journeys, they ran 9 performs. They gained simply 13 yards on these performs. Among the performs was a seven-yard loss on a reverse from Kendrick Bourne, runs from Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson that gained little yardage, three incompletions from Jones, and a sack.
On the optimistic aspect, there was a 13-yard completion to Nelson Agholor. And, the outlook might need been a bit totally different had the landing catch from Hunter Henry not been reversed.
During a video name with reporters Saturday, play caller Matt Patricia stated the Patriots tried to assault sure defensive packages the Vikings have been in, however credited their protection for making the mandatory stops.
“Certainly from our standpoint, just trying to stay positive through that area is critical for us,” he stated. “We’ve got to go out and coach it well, and execute well on the field and continue to try to push through that zone to get the ball in the end zone.”
Specifically what wants to enhance?
“It’s all the stuff we’ve talked about before from an operational standpoint . . . penalties and plays like that, that take away from it,” he stated. “And making sure I do a good job of giving the players the best opportunities they can to score in that situation, too. We’ve got to go out and do it on the field. I think it’s different aspects on different plays, and trying to eliminate those as we go through.”
Jones did produce certainly one of his greatest efforts of the season, finishing 28 of 39 passes for 382 yards and a pair of touchdowns within the shedding effort, it simply didn’t translate within the crimson space.
Tight ends coach Nick Caley stated that whereas it’s more durable to attain in a condensed space, the Patriots can’t proceed to accept area objectives.
“We’re close, there’s just a few things here or there you gotta do a little bit better . . . we gotta do a better job of playing cleaner and finishing things a little better,” Caley stated Saturday. “I believe we’re heading in the right direction in doing these issues. We’re shut, we simply must preserve that in thoughts. Pay excessive consideration to element down there.
“Everything happens faster, you gotta play tough, you gotta finish blocks, you gotta have great route detail, and all of those things have to be in concert with one another.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com