3 Patriots on Thin Ice After Blowing Chance at Week 1 Win
By Isaiah De Los Santos
The most frustrating part of the New England Patriots’ Week 1 game was the fact they had a legitimate chance to win it. Despite facing the recent Super Bowl runner-up who had several clear advantages at key positions, the Pats lost by less than a touchdown and got into the red zone with less than a minute left.
It’s hard to dish out too much blame in a contest that was so close, but there’s certainly a few players who didn’t perform as anticipated. With that in mind, here are three Patriots on thin ice after Week 1.
Three Patriots to Blame for Week 1 Loss
1. Ezekiel Elliott
Ezekiel Elliott was one of New England’s biggest offseason additions, but he failed to make much of an impact to begin his Patriots tenure.
The former Pro Bowler handled seven carries against Philadelphia, recording a meager 29 yards (11 of which came on one play). He served as a dump-off outlet with five receptions on seven targets, but he barely did anything with those grabs, totaling just 14 yards.
Not only were his numbers extremely lackluster, but he also fumbled on the team’s second drive of the game. That set the Eagles up in prime field position, and they took advantage of it to score their only offensive touchdown of the game.
It’s one thing to be ineffective. It’s another to actively hurt your team by helping the opposition. Elliott’s Week 1 performance, disappointingly, fell into both categories.
Teams around the league had their concerns about Elliott, which is why he stuck around in free agency for so long. Even the Cowboys, whom the RB spent the past seven years with and earned Jerry Jones’ good graces, gave him the boot due to his age and miles. This showing just stirs up all those worries all over again.