Patriots Defender Goes On NSFW Rant About Offensive Struggles
By Ryan Bunton
As the New England Patriots offense left the field at halftime of yesterday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers, boos rained down from the Gillette Stadium crowd. In the first half, New England's offense had only managed a measly 101 yards and five first downs. Patriots fans have grown increasingly frustrated with the team's performance this season, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
For the first time this season, a Patriots defender has outwardly expressed similar frustration.
With the lack of any explosiveness on offense, defensive lineman Davon Godchaux decided to take matters into his own hands post-game and provide some incendiary comments.
"I'm not gonna sit here and say, 'You know, I still believe.' It's f--ing frustrating.
- Davon Godchaux
We can't even afford to let them kick a field goal. We've gotta hold 'em to zero."
Godchaux's comments are certainly justified. Under Bill Belichick, Patriots fans have been accustomed to record-breaking performances, but yesterday's gave little cause for celebration.
With yesterday's 6-0 loss to the Chargers, the Patriots became the first team since the 1938 Chicago Cardinals (yes, Chicago) to lose three straight contests while holding opponents to 10 or fewer points in each of those games.
If you remove the Patriots from the equation, NFL teams are 54-0 this season when allowing 10 or fewer points. New England just lost three straight.
In terms of yards allowed per game, New England's defense ranks eighth in the NFL. By glancing at any Patriots defensive metric, it would be hard to imagine that they belong to a 2-10 team. Unfortunately for Godchaux and company, the Patriots offense has been of little help, ranking dead last in the league in points per game, managing only 12.3 PPG.
The Patriots defensive lineman didn't hesitate to call out any of his offensive teammates by name, and second-year wideout Tyquan Thornton found himself on the wrong side of Godchaux's wrath. Referring to missed connection on a deep ball towards the end of the third quarter:
"Like Tyquan (Thornton) had the guy beat by like three steps. And we've gotta make those catches. The margin of error is so small."
- Davon Godchaux
Godchaux's comments could be representative of a larger divide in the Patriots locker room between the offensive and defensive units, and Godchaux just happened to be the one who finally let loose publicly. These comments also come on the heels of a report that Mac Jones had the locker room, with the "vast majority" of players "done with him" and a "shared sense that Jones' worst mistakes negate the best efforts of his teammates." The report noted that these feelings were coming from both sides of the ball.
For Patriots fans that hoped the quarterback switch would provide a spark on offense with Bailey Zappe under center, they were let down as well. The Patriots' 109 passing yards through the air was their lowest mark of the season. The lack of offensive output yesterday can at least be somewhat attributed to the wet weather in Foxborough, but given the offense's consistent struggles throughout the 2023 campaign, it is hard to give them the benefit of the doubt.
To make matters worse, the Patriots were hardly going up against a stout defense. The Chargers came into Sunday as the worst defense in the league in terms of yards allowed per game. Los Angeles had allowed opponents to rack up 390.6 yards per game. Yesterday, the Chargers recorded their first shutout since Week 2 of the 2017 season.
Across these last three dreadful offensive performances, New England has had 33 offensive drives. 17 have ended in punts, five have ended in interceptions, three have ended with the expiration of the half, two have ended on missed field goals, two have ended via a turnover on downs, and one ended on a fumble. Only three drives have ended in scores (one touchdown and two field goals).
If anything, it's surprising that it took this long for a Patriots defender to point their finger at the offense.
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