New England Patriots: 3 major issues that popped up in Week 7 loss

The New England Patriots were expected to throttle the Chicago Bears in Week 7.

Mac Jones was set to return, the Patriots had dominated their last two opponents, and the Bears are one of the worst team in the league. Instead, the Bears shocked the Pats, and ended up winning by a score of 33-14.

This was one of the ugliest Patriots games in recent memory, and just when it seemed like the team was on the verge of figuring everything out and going on a nice little win streak, everything fell apart. Now the team is left picking up the pieces, and they will have to find answers to these three major issues that popped up in this loss to the Bears.

New England Patriots issue No. 3: How much longer can the team afford to let Matt Patricia run the offense?

Matt Patricia has been thrown into the fire when it comes to the offensive play-calling duties this season, and to be fair, he’s done a decent job. His work with Bailey Zappe as he filled in for an injured Jones was very good, and his game plans helped Zappe find success against the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns.

But Patricia’s game plan against the Bears was atrocious. He decided to test Chicago’s pass defense, which was their strength, rather than run the ball down their throats. The Bears have one of the worst run defenses in the league, yet New England could only muster 70 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. For much of the game, Jones was the team’s leading rusher, despite the fact he played only three drives.

Patricia, much like the rest of the Patriots coaching staff, tried to get cute with everything in this game, and it cost them big time. New England’s offense has a lot of issues, and it’s beginning to become clear that Patricia isn’t the guy who can fix them. If the Pats want to win this season, which is another big question that will pop up thanks to this game, they can’t afford to allow Patricia to continue to tank the offense like he did in this one.