New England Patriots: 3 studs from Week 4 dramatic loss to Tampa

The New England Patriots couldn’t quite get the best of Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This was an incredible game, and the Patriots nearly pulled off an enormous upset. Unfortunately they came up just short, losing by a score of 17-19.

There’s plenty to second guess about, specifically the decision to have Nick Folk try a 56 yard field goal in the rain with a minute remaining. Had Folk converted the kick, he would have tied a career high that he set in 2010.

Folk is 11 years older now and was listed on the injury report before the game, but props to him for nearly making it.

The Patriots had a 4th and 3 when they called on the field goal unit. With the way the offense was moving the ball through the air, three yards wasn’t much to ask for. They also could have milked more clock if they had picked up the first down to ensure that Brady didn’t get the ball back with too much time remaining if they were to score.

Who stood out for the New England Patriots against the Bucs?

While a 1-3 start is not ideal, there are some positives for the Patriots to take away from this game to build on moving forward. To hang in there as well as they did against one of the best teams in the league is nothing to hang their heads about.

Three players in particular made a huge impact on this gam

1. Mac Jones shined under pressure

The best reason to come away from this game feeling good about the New England Patriots is Mac Jones. Regardless of how the rest of this season goes, this kid looks the part of a franchise quarterback.

Despite the loss, Jones outplayed the greatest of all time. Jones completed 31 out of 40 passing attempts for 275 yards with two touchdowns and one pick. Tom Brady was stifled by the Patriots defense for most of the night, going 22-43 for 269 yards with no touchdowns.

Jones was poised and accurate despite being blitzed on 47.7 percent of his dropbacks. He showed that no matter how big the occasion is, he will be able to rise to it and keep this offense in the game more often than not.

Jones wasn’t perfect and ultimately the team only scored 17 points, but this was undoubtedly the most impressive performance of his very young NFL career. If he can continue to perform like this, the wins will come soon enough.

2. Matthew Judon was a one man wrecking crew

It felt like Matthew Judon was the only player causing consistent issues for the Buccaneers offensive line.

Judon sacked Brady once, had two quarterback hits and two tackles for loss.

This is nothing new, as Judon has performed well for the first quarter of the season. Through four games he is by far the best player that the Patriots acquired in the offseason, although there is still plenty of football to be played.

If the Patriots front seven as a whole can begin to play to their potential and cause more issues for opposing offenses, then they will be a truly terrifying unit. So far it’s only been Judon who has consistently stood out.

With 4.5 sacks, six tackles for loss and eight QB hits in four games, Judon is off to quite the start to his Patriots tenure.

3. Jakobi Meyers is a legit NFL receiver

It’s a bit too early to compare Jakobi Meyers to Julian Edelman, but that’s the vibe that Meyers brings to this offense with his production out of the slot and his ability to throw the ball on trick plays.

Meyers had eight receptions for 70 yards and completed two passes for 45 yards against the Buccaneers. He had the best performance of anyone in this pass catching group, which had their best game overall as a unit so far this season.

Meyers currently leads the team in targets by far, with 41. The next highest Patriot is Nelson Agholor with 23. In fact, pending Monday Night football, Meyers is tied with Stefon Diggs for sixth in the entire NFL in targets.

Meyers has turned that into 27 receptions, good for a tie with Calvin Ridley for seventh in the league. Meyers is no where near the caliber of player that those two are, but the fact that he’s in the same statistical stratosphere as they are is nothing short of impressive.

Meyers has yet to catch a touchdown in his career, which is quite the anomaly given his usage between last year and this year. Eventually he’ll hit pay dirt, but regardless he has been the number one receiver for the New England Patriots in 2021.