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.
2. JuJu Smith-Schuster
Sunday was far from a good showing by JuJu Smith-Schuster. The other big-name offseason arrival didn’t make much of an impact in his debut, totaling just 33 receiving yards on four catches.
Simply put, this isn’t the caliber of performance Smith-Schuster was signed for. He was outpaced by five other Pats players, including backup tight end Mike Gesiciki (36 yards) and running back Rhamondre Stevenson (64 yards).
Even more concerning, Smith-Schuster didn’t take the field on the team’s final drive of the game with a chance to win it. Bill Belichick chalked it up to “rotations,” but I’m not buying it. You’d find a way to get your one of your keys player out there if he was performing well.
The truth of the matter is, the wideout wasn’t one of New England’s best pass-catchers on Sunday. It was Kendrick Bourne (6 catches, 64 yards, 2 TDs) and Hunter Henry (5 catches, 56 yards, 1 TD) who made plays with quarterback Mac Jones time and time again.
While those two are great complementary pieces, there is no excuse for Smith-Schuster to be outshined by both, especially on a day when No. 2 Devante Parker was out.
Making Smith-Schuster’s outing look even worse is the fact Jakobi Meyers starred for the Las Vegas Raiders (9/81/2) in Week 1. The Pats seemed to doubt Meyers’ ability as a leading man and showed confidence in Smith-Schuster to be that guy.
It’d be no surprise if some doubts are already creeping in, especially considering Smith-Schuster’s knee issue is potentially a bigger deal than expected. Hopefully swapping Meyers for the former Pro Bowler doesn’t blow up in the Pats’ faces.
3. Matt Corral
Let’s talk about someone who didn’t even play on Sunday.
After an unexpected absence at Friday’s practice, speculation ran rampant regarding quarterback Matt Corral. New England then placed the young signal-caller on the exempt list this weekend and instead called up Bailey Zappe to serve as Mac Jones’ backup.
This situation is strange, and we don’t know much of what’s actually going on. Belichick refused to comment on it Monday, saying it’s a “personal matter.” He did mention the team is in contact with Corral, though.
Regardless, this puts Corral in a precarious spot. He was claimed by New England with the belief he’d be well suited for the QB2 role after Zappe and Malik Cunningham were demoted to the practice squad, though the team expressed some doubt he’d be ready for Week 1. It’s possible that didn’t make Corral the most thrilled.
For whatever reason Corral is away, whether that’s due to a personal or football issue, he’s missing valuable time with his new team. This gives Zappe another chance to lock down the backup spot, which could render Corral useless and lead to his exit.
Hopefully we get more clarity on Corral’s absence in the coming days and it’s not because of a dispute with the team. Otherwise, his Pats tenure may be over before it even started.
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