New England Patriots: 5 observations from fumbling loss to Miami

The New England Patriots simply let one get away.  In the team’s 17-16 loss to the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium, penalties, and a key fumble late in the game was the difference between a victory and a loss in the season opener.

In a classic AFC East battle, Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones showed plenty of promise in completing 74.4 percent of his passes while throwing for 281 yards and a touchdown.  But the team’s failure to turn four trips into the red zone into touchdowns came back to haunt the team in the one-yard loss.

New England Patriots made uncharacteristic mistakes

Ball security also played a role as the team had a total of three fumbles, two of which was recovered by the Dolphins.  The final blow was Damien Harris fumbling away the ball deep in Miami territory with the Patriots well positioned to take the lead.  A tough loss indeed and obviously a frustrating one for head coach Bill Belichick.

"“It was obviously a disappointing game,” Belichick said following the game, via Patriots.com.  “We just didn’t do enough.  Just didn’t do enough to win.  We had our chances, had our opportunities.  But really all the way across the board, we’ve just got to do a better job.  Really that’s about the story of it.  There’s a lot of things that could have helped us.  Just have to coach better, play better, execute better, play better situational football than we did today.  I just missed too many opportunities to win.”"

In all, it was a game of missed opportunities, but a game that did provide much optimism if you are a New England Patriots fan.  Here are five positive observations from the 17-16 fumbling loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The New England Patriots wide receivers can do some things

It was only one game, but Mac Jones did have chemistry with his wide receivers, particularly Nelson Agholor.

The veteran receiver, who didn’t play in the preseason, hooked up with Jones for 5 receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown.  There was some key third down conversions and an absolute missile from Jones in the middle of the field that went for 25 yards.

On that chemistry with the rookie, Agholor said practice makes perfect.

"“We just keep on working and we’ve done that,” Agholor said following the game.  “We’ve practiced hard, and we need to continue to do that.  I think good things will happen if we practice hard.”"

The Patriots rookie also had nice chemistry with Jakobi Meyers, who had 6 receptions for 44 yards in the game and Kendrick Bourne had a reception for 17 yards.

That production came against a Miami Dolphins secondary led by Xavien Howard and Bryon Jones.  The positive with this receiving group is that as the season goes along and the chemistry gets even better with Mac Jones, they will at least be productive by getting some separation.  Again, just one game, but the passing game already looked much better than a season ago.

The New England Patriots tight ends showed up late

Perhaps Agholor, Meyers and the boys found some open spots because of the tight end tandem of Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry.

The two prize free agent signings were quiet during the first have for the 17-16 loss, but they showed up in the second half as Mac Jones begin to really target his big playmakers.

Henry, who was not targeted until the second half had three receptions for 31 yards and Smith looked as advertised with 5 receptions for 42 yards.  With a big reception during that final draft that unfortunately ended with a fumble, Smith showcased his athleticism hauling in a nice pass from Jones in the middle of the field.

The offense will only get better with these two on the field together as the season goes along.  Jones really did a good job as spreading the ball around.  While he did start to go to Smith and Henry late in the game, he targeted his receivers and also the running backs.

James White had a sweet 26-yard reception and Damien Harris had a couple of catches as well.  But, for this offense to really be special, the two tight ends are going to have to create some mismatches on the field.

In all, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels may be dialing back a little when it comes to his tight ends.  But, when they are unleashed and Mac Jones is given more freedom to sling it, the New England Patriots offense will start to put some points on the board.

Despite the fumble, New England Patriots running back Damien Harris is the man

The first offensive play of the game said it all.  The New England Patriots running game is going to be tough to stop.

Taking the first handoff of the game for 35 yards, Damien Harris showed he is going to be special this season.

With 100 yards on 23 attempts, the Alabama product was effective and proved hard to be taken down.  However, it was his attempt to fight for more yards that led to the fumble late in the game.  The third year back obviously took it personal when talking about the big turnover after the game.

"“It’s a tough play,” Harris said.  “Obviously I have to do a better job of holding onto the ball, especially in a critical situation like that, but it’s a long season.  Not going to let this mistake define me, so I’m just ready to move forward.”"

Although that fumble was tough to digest, the great thing about Harris is his character.  He is a player that battles and works hard to improve week-to-week and he will.  As will rookie running back Rhamondre Stevenson who had an issue with ball security himself earlier in the game.

Fortunately, Stevenson’s fumble didn’t lead to any points, but it did prevent the Patriots’ offense from scoring.  Despite the turnovers, the Patriots running backs are going to be big in this offense.  From Harris and Stevenson to James White who was good in the passing game, the running backs showed glimpses that they are good as advertised.

As the team moves onto Week 2 against the New York Jets, it’s a safe bet to believe the emphasis from Bill Belichick will be ball security.  It’s simple, if they held onto the fall, the new England Patriots win that game, perhaps going away.

The New England Patriots defense won’t fear anyone

Take away the opening drives at the beginning of each half in which the New England Patriots made Tua Tagovailoa look like the second coming, the defense pretty much did their thing.

The Dolphins were able to march down the field for touchdowns in those drives, but when the Patriots defense really clamped down, they made stops when they needed to make stops.  Kyle Van Noy and Josh Uche had big sacks and Jonathan Jones made a key interception, but they still have some things to improve on, which will improve with confidence and the more the defense grows as a unit.

Matt Judon, who had a big QB hit on Tua that led to the interception, is already showing that confidence in his group.

"“We’re not going to back down and be scared of anybody the whole season,” Judon said following the game.  “We go out there as a unit and you do one-eleventh of your job.  As a defense, that’s what you got to do.  You got to continue to step up, no matter the situation, score or tie.  Like I said, we’re going to have to watch the film to see where we can execute better and where we can get better.”"

Where the defense can get better is coming out more aggressive on defense.  During the first drive against the Dolphins’ offense, Belichick’s defense seemed a bit passive as Miami’s running game and up-tempo passes to Jaylen Waddle and DeVante Parker made things difficult at times for the New England Patriots secondary that was obviously without Stephon Gilmore.

To cover that up in future games, that pass rush is going to have to make things difficult for opposing quarterbacks.

On Sunday, Van Noy, Uche and Judon showed exactly what happens when they provide pressure on the quarterback.

They have a rookie quarterback in Zach Wilson next on the docket.

New England Patriots rookie Mac Jones is going to be special

Speaking of rookie quarterbacks, Mac Jones played his first game in a New England Patriots uniform with poise, except for his first drop back of the game that is.

On the first drive, Jones was sacked and fumbled in a play that looked to have surprised him.

"“We just were running a play in the red zone, high red zone, and I should have just thrown it away,” Jones said.  “It was that simple.  Yeah, just throw it away and move on to the next down.”"

That’s both a sign of maturity and growth for the rookie who went on to showcase an extreme amount of poise in the pocket.  The Dolphins came after him and he manipulated the pocket by stepping up and making some impressive throws.  He also showed great touch with that wheel route to James White in which he dropped it right in the basket for a key third-down conversion.

The play showed glimpses of Mr. Tom Brady, but Tom Brady is not who or what Mac Jones needs to be to lead this football team.  He just needs to be as accurate and confident as he was in his debut performance.

It was a loss, but it was an encouraging performance by Jones, who wasn’t satisfied and knows his team and his offense can and will get better.

"“I think we can get better,” Jones said.  “That’s just how we have to look at it.  Definitely wasn’t good enough, starting with me.  So we’ve got to watch the film.  We lost, so it’s not good enough.”"

Sounds like a quarterback who wants to do the necessary things to win.