2 Studs (& 3 Duds) From Patriots' Week 9 loss vs. Commanders

The New England Patriots just lost their seventh game of the season, giving them the worst record (2-7) in the entire AFC this season. Needless to say, this is pretty new territory for the Patriots in the Bill Belichick era, and it's not the type of territory you really want to become familiar with at all.

New England is a mess right now with one of the worst offenses in the NFL and many question marks about the future of the organization. The Patriots fell to a Washington Commanders team that was the biggest seller at the 2023 NFL Trade Deadline, coming up short once again in a 20-17 loss at home.

With New England coming off its second loss in a row, let's look back at this game and which players stood out (for better or worse).

Patriots Studs and Duds Week 9

Dud: Patriots' Third Down Offense

You're simply not going to win many games in the NFL when you struggle on third down like the Patriots have. They finished this game 3-of-12 on third down attempts, which has been an issue for them all year.

New England had converted just 34 percent of its third down attempts coming into this game, ranking 25th in the NFL. After today, the team might rank even lower.

What's even crazier about this particular stat? Mac Jones was not sacked in this game and was only hit once. The fact that the Patriots were only able to convert 3 third down attempts against Washington's non-existent pass rush is astounding.