The New England Patriots crumbled down the stretch this season, losing three of their final four regular-season games before being blown out in the first round of the playoffs.
What prompted that nosedive has been the subject of heavy scrutiny over the last two months.
Some players pointed to a lack of necessary focus, with the team failing to dial up its intensity after its Week 14 bye. Others said they simply did not execute the way they needed to.
Linebacker Kyle Van Noy floated another possible explanation this week in an interview with WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show,” suggesting illness might have been an issue.
“I don’t like making excuses or nothing,” Van Noy said. “I don’t know. I think there was a lot of guys who potentially could have been sick. We just didn’t play well down the stretch, unfortunately.”
More than a dozen Patriots players spent time on the reserve/COVID-19 list during the team’s late-season slide, with cornerbacks Jalen Mills and Myles Bryant, defensive end Deatrich Wise and running back Rhamondre Stevenson among those who missed games as a result. Defensive starters Matthew Judon and Ja’Whaun Bentley and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne also tested positive during this span.
Mills’ absence had the greatest impact. With him and reserve rookie Shaun Wade unavailable for New England’s wild-card playoff game in Buffalo, the Patriots’ lack of cornerback depth was exposed in a 47-17 loss to the AFC East rival Bills.
“Defensively, offensively, we weren’t playing complementary football,” Van Noy said. “They would play good, and then we would play poop. It just wasn’t (aligned). And then the last game was just a game you wish you never had. It was the worst game of the year, and it happened to be the last one.
“Unfortunately, the saying is you’re only as good as your last game. Everybody has the right to say we stink, I’m slow, get rid of me, I suck, the offense sucks, (etc.). But you can’t look back — you’ve got to hear what people are saying, but at the same time, you’ve got to grow from it.”
The focus as the Patriots prepare for next season, Van Noy said, needs to be on learning from the mistakes that derailed their 2021 campaign. All of their late losses followed a similar script, featuring early deficits, turnovers, undisciplined penalties, a non-existent pass rush and ill-timed defensive breakdowns.
“What did we learn in that situation? OK, let’s go back to the drawing board,” Van Noy said. “We had Mac (Jones), a rookie quarterback. We had a No. 1 defense during the regular season. Can we carry that over? Can Mac carry that success over? OK, the pieces that are coming into the organization, can we get them ramped up?
“Because we want to win, and I think if everybody’s on board with that and everybody could get back to that mindset of, ‘OK, what did we learn from this loss? Let’s carry this over. Let’s work during the season and remember those losses and let’s get better from those.’ “