New England Patriots: 3 players that need to step up and play better

The New England Patriots have found themselves in a bit of an interesting spot through six weeks of the season. While their record stands at 2-4, they have missed some golden opportunities to add on a couple extra tallies to their win total so far. It’s not a stretch to say that this team could probably be sitting pretty with a 4-2 or 5-1 record if they were able to make a couple of big plays when they needed to.

It’s been an extremely frustrating start to the season for both the team and their fans. Against the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Dallas Cowboys, the Patriots had legitimate shots to win the game late in the fourth quarter. Yet when the team needed someone to step up and deliver a big play, they often have watched someone on the opposing team deliver the goods for their team.

In Week 1 against Miami, it was Xavien Howard forcing Damien Harris to fumble, and then recovering that fumble to allow the Dolphins to run out the clock. In Week 4, Lavonte David was able to deflect a pass at line that would have surely resulted in a first down, and forced Nick Folk into trying to hit a 56 yard field goal that would end up missing. And now in Week 6, CeeDee Lamb burned Jalen Mills in overtime for a 35 yard game-winning touchdown.

The Pats haven’t had anyone step up to help deliver them victories in these scenarios. The problem is, they have some really good players on this team that just aren’t performing at the highest level, and that’s going to need to chance if this team intends to start winning games. Here are three players who are going to need to step up and play better if the New England Patriots want to get back in the win column anytime soon.