Five touchdowns through the air and 275 passing yards allowed?
The New England Patriots' loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday made for a game their secondary certainly wants to forget.
Just ask cornerback Jason McCourty, who was in coverage for two of those five passing touchdowns. The third-year Patriot was especially hard on himself, expressing it was a "terrible feeling" while talking with reporters Tuesday.
"Oh, without a doubt. Russell Wilson and their offense is a really good outfit, really good players, and he obviously is a tremendous player," McCourty said. "I think for us as a secondary, obviously (it was) not a good performance. I know for myself personally, I'll speak, to be part of two of those is just a terrible feeling and obviously not good enough.
"So after watching the film, those are the things that could be corrected. I think for me, I know I have to go out there and I have to play better, and I know for us as a whole as a secondary, we feel like we need to go out there and we need to play better. We've played better in the past. We have to pick it up, and we have to do a better job when Sunday comes."
In some situations, and certainly like one of the scores McCourty allowed, it looked like the Patriots made a good play but Wilson and the Seahawks made a better one. Seattle's David Moore, specifically, tiptoed to the sideline with McCourty draped all over him. It was literally the second-most improbable completion since 2018.
McCourty, though, doesn't look at it like that. The veteran believes he should have done things differently on his end.
"I don't think there's a player in the league that looks at a play where they were on the worse end of it says, 'Oh well, he just beat me. Nothing I can do,'" McCourty said. "I think as competitors, as professional athletes, there's not a place, usually, whether it's good or bad, that we don't look at -- unless we just had an outstanding play there -- that we don't look at and say, 'Hey, if this comes back up, I would have liked to do this. I would have liked to have done that.'
"I got my head back. I need to keep my footing. If I keep my foot, it gives me a chance to make a play on the ball. So without a doubt, (it's) a sick feeling when you watch it. I felt like that right after the play, looking up watching the replay," McCourty continued. "I said, 'I've got to stay up and I've got to be able to make a play on the ball.' As a (defensive back) you're not going to give up a touchdown and just tip your hat and say, 'Hey, let's move on.' You're going to look at the play, you're going to analyze, you're going to watch it 15 times to try to figure out what you can do better for the next time you're in that situation."
The good news is McCourty and the rest of the secondary will have the opportunity to right those wrongs when they host the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports Images
