The New England Patriots will play their final game of 2018 this Sunday, squaring off against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium to close out the regular season.
As the team prepares to turn the page to 2019, let’s look back at the year that was. Here’s Part 1 of our Patriots Year in Review. Stay tuned for Part 2 on Saturday.
Heartbreak and confusion in Minneapolis
After erasing a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to knock off the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game, the Patriots entered Super Bowl LII as 5 1/2-point favorites over a Philadephia Eagles team that was led by a journeyman backup quarterback.
Everyone remembers what happened next.
Bill Belichick inexplicably benched cornerback Malcolm Butler — a decision that, nearly a full year later, still has not been properly explained — Nick Foles outdueled Tom Brady, and the Eagles won 41-33, preventing the Patriots from becoming the first team since the 2004 Pats to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
Brady was excellent in the game — his 505 passing yards were a playoff record, and the Patriots were the first team in NFL history to rack up 600 yards from scrimmage and lose — but his dropped pass and late strip sack proved costly in the third Super Bowl loss of the QB’s illustrious career.
McDaniels mania
Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels both were expected to leave for head-coaching jobs after the Super Bowl. Patricia did, taking over the Detroit Lions. McDaniels did, and then didn’t.
After committing to take over as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts — who championed the hire on social media and had an introductory news conference scheduled — McDaniels backed out, deciding at the 11th hour to remain in post as New England’s OC.
“The rivalry is back on,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard declared in after McDaniels’ about-face.
Indy wound up finding a solid replacement in Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich, who has the Colts on the verge of the postseason one year after a 4-12 finish.
Free agent exodus
A month after the Super Bowl, the Patriots lost a quartet of important contributors to free agency. Butler and running back Dion Lewis signed with the Tennessee Titans, wide receiver Danny Amendola joined the Miami Dolphins and left tackle Nate Solder landed with the New York Giants. New England also traded 1,000-yard receiver Brandin Cooks to the Los Angeles Rams, landing a first-round pick in return.
The Patriots’ list of offseason acquisitions included defensive end Adrian Clayborn, defensive tackle Danny Shelton, versatile wideout Cordarrelle Patterson, running back Jeremy Hill, cornerback Jason McCourty and offensive tackle Trent Brown.
Patterson, McCourty and Brown all have been solid additions — the latter has started every game in place of Solder — but Hill suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1, and Clayborn and Shelton have underperformed, with both sitting out games as healthy scratches.
Draft day
As he is wont to do, Belichick made several surprising decisions during the 2018 NFL Draft, including drafting a running back (Georgia’s Sony Michel) in the first round and waiting until the seventh to select a quarterback (LSU’s Danny Etling) despite that being widely viewed as a position of need as Brady’s 41st birthday approached.
Michel has had the best season by a Patriots rookie back since Robert Edwards (four 100-yard games, including one last Sunday against the Buffalo Bills) but he also missed four games and the entire preseason with knee injuries.
Injuries ravaged this entire draft class, with six of the nine players spending all or part of the season on injured reserve, including tackle/guard Isaiah Wynn, the team’s top pick (23rd overall). Only three — Michel, linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley and cornerback Keion Crossen — have appeared in even a single game this season.
The Patriots did find a gem in undrafted cornerback J.C. Jackson, though. Jackson hasn’t allowed a touchdown all season, has three interceptions and leads all NFL cornerbacks in passer rating against.
Brady, Gronk stay home
The prevailing storyline of Patriots spring practice was Brady’s and tight end Rob Gronkowski’s decisions not to take part. Both players skipped voluntary organized team activities, participating only in mandatory minicamp before the team broke for the summer.
Brady, who stayed home to spent more time with his family and pursue non-football ventures around the world, faced criticism for turning down the opportunities to work with the Patriots’ offensive newcomers, which at the time included Patterson, Michel, Hill, wide receiver Jordan Matthews and tight end Troy Niklas.
Gronkowski, meanwhile, publicly contemplated retirement during the offseason. He didn’t confirm he would play in 2018 until April, doing so a few days after holding a bizarre motocross news conference at Gillette Stadium.
Receiver roulette
Since the NFL league year began in mid-March, a whopping 25 wide receivers have spent time on the Patriots’ 90-man roster, 53-man roster or practice squad. Only seven appeared in even one game this season: Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, Patterson, Matthew Slater and Riley McCarron, who was cut after muffing a punt in Week 1.
The Patriots’ depth chart at the position appeared loaded over the summer, but that changed in a hurry after Matthews, Malcolm Mitchell, Kenny Britt and Eric Decker all flamed out during camp and Edelman was suspended for the first four games of the regular season.
New England’s passing offense struggled early with Hogan, Dorsett and Patterson leading the way, prompting the team to take a chance on the troubled Gordon, who’d played in just 11 total games since the start of the 2014 season. The former Cleveland Browns star thrived for 11 weeks before violating the terms of his reinstatement and receiving an indefinite NFL suspension shortly before Christmas.
Part 2 of our Patriots Year in Review coming Saturday.
