After averaging nearly 40 points per game during a seven-game winning streak, the New England Patriots mustered just 21 points in a loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
With a performance like that, it’s easy to place the blame of Sunday’s defeat on New England’s offense. Some have done exactly that, pointing to the Patriots’ decision to abandon their running game in favor of the pass. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels dialed up just 18 run plays against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL.
During Monday’s edition of “Dale and Holley” on WEEI, the radio hosts decided to go straight to the source by asking head coach Bill Belichick about his team’s play-calling decisions.
“I wouldn’t say we got away from (the run game),” Belichick said, via WEEI.com. “We ran the ball throughout the game, we just didn’t have the ball for enough plays. If we’d had the ball more, we would’ve run more of everything. We would’ve run it more, we would’ve thrown it more, we would’ve had more plays and we would’ve had better control of the game.”
In short, Belichick has his offensive coordinator’s back.
“We just didn’t have enough plays, and that was because we had only eight possessions for us in the game. I don’t think there was really anything in the game that we felt not good about offensively.”
Green Bay dominated time of possession at Lambeau Field, controlling the ball for 36:35 to New England’s 23:25. The Patriots actually were perfect in the red zone, scoring a touchdown on all three trips inside the 20, but that wasn’t enough against Aaron Rodgers and the high-flying Packers.
“They’re well-balanced,” Belichick added. “… You can’t just take one guy away or take one thing away. They have too many other things that they can do.”
Thumbnail photo via Chris Humphreys/USA TODAY Sports Images
