New England Patriots fans were hoping for the Mike Vrabel Era to start with a bang, but were instead left banging their head after a disappointing Week 1 loss. After playing to a 10-7 lead over the Las Vegas Raiders by halftime, most Patriots were invisible in the final two quarters, being outscored by 10 points before a 20-13 final score left the Gillette Stadium crowd wishing they could forget about what just happened.
Several factors went into the Patriots' season-opening loss, including poor play throughout the defensive unit. New England's defenders surrendered 389 total yards to Las Vegas, which had a bottom-10 offense last season, and a lot of the blame can be put on one player's shoulders.
Patriots Could Make Defensive Changes After Christian Elliss' Week 1 Dud
Christian Elliss is one of the defenders whom Patriots fans were excited to see under their new head coach. Vrabel is a former All-Pro linebacker, and the hope was that some of that experience would rub off on Elliss, who's coming off career highs in starts (5), solo tackles (42), sacks (1.5), and defended passes in 2024.
Fast forward to Week 1 when Elliss was one of the Patriots' most disappointing defenders, if not the worst of the bunch. The Idaho product finished with New England's lowest Pro Football Focus grades when it came to run stoppage (44.2), coverage (28.8), and overall defense (27.7). He missed 3-of-12 tackling attempts (25.0%) and even allowed seven catches on as many targets for 73 receiving yards and a 110.1 passer rating.
Elliss looked lost multiple times throughout the Week 1 contest, which is quite the stark contrast from last season. The 26-year-old linebacker was a bright spot on last year's defense, and all signs pointed to his being ready to take the next step under Vrabel.
Instead, the Patriots are left with a question mark in their LB room as to whether or not Elliss deserves to start next week against the Miami Dolphins. Offseason addition Jack Gibbens only played eight snaps this weekend, but that could change if Vrabel & Co. want to lessen Elliss' workload.
At the same time, Week 2 might be the perfect opportunity for Elliss to get back on track. The Dolphins just surrendered 418 total yards and 33 points to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, giving Elliss no excuse not to have a better effort than the one he showed this weekend.
Slated to be an integral part of the Patriots' defense, hopefully, Sunday was a one-off, and that Elliss will rediscover his groove sooner rather than later.