4 Patriots Most to Blame for Blowing Week 2 Win vs. Seahawks
By Ryan Bunton
2. Alex Van Pelt
Coordinators always catch a fair amount of heat, and eventually there will need to be some scrutiny surrounding Alex Van Pelt's inability to get New England's wide receivers the ball. The Patriots' wideouts caught only three passes for 19 yards. But for now, one poor play call in particular stands out from Sunday.
Van Pelt tried to get fancy on the aforementioned third-and-one play in overtime - employing an unbalanced offensive line to the right in which tight end Hunter Henry lined up as the left tackle and rookie Caedan Wallace as the third offensive lineman to the right of center. More inexplicably, the plan motioned receiver Tyquan Thornton into the backfield.
Seattle's defense was not fooled at all as Stevenson was stopped for no gain, Wallace was flagged for illegal formation, and New England was forced to punt on fourth down.
On the most crucial play of the game, Van Pelt got too cute. In a game in which the Patriots ran for 185 yards, Van Pelt should've just dialed up a simple power run play. No one who has watched more than two minutes of Patriots football thought that Tyquan Thornton was getting the ball in that situation. The Seahawks definitely didn't either.
The Patriots punted the ball away on the next play, and New England wouldn't see the ball again as Seattle drove down the field to position Myers to kick the game-winning field goal.