Three Studs, Three Duds From Patriots’ Needed Win Over Cardinals

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Patriots absolutely needed to get a victory Monday night in Arizona, and they got it done.

It wasn’t pretty. Despite the Cardinals losing star quarterback Kyler Murray to a reportedly serious knee injury on the first drive of the game, New England had to fight and claw for a 27-13 win in a game that shouldn’t have been close. In fact, the score was tied in the third quarter before a DeAndre Hopkins fumble resulted in a Raekwon McMillan scoop-and-score that totally changed the game. Replacement QB Colt McCoy threw an interception on Arizona’s next series, and the Patriots responded with a touchdown drive that put the game out of reach.

Mac Jones was fine, completing 24 of 35 passes for 235 yards and zero touchdowns to go along with one interception that wasn’t his fault. The two offensive touchdowns were delivered by rookie running backs Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris, both of whom saw increased playing time after Rhamondre Stevenson was ruled out due to an ankle injury. The Patriots also lost receiver DeVante Parker (concussion) and rookie cornerback Jack Jones (knee) to injuries during the first half.

When the dust settled, New England’s struggling and shorthanded offense went 2-for-3 in the red zone, 3-for-10 on third down and compiled 18 total first downs. So, there was some bad and some good, though it should’ve been better against one of the NFL’s worst defenses.

On the other side, McCoy completed 27 of 40 passes for 246 yards and zero touchdowns to go along with one interception. Running back James Conner racked up 85 yards and a score on 15 carries, and Hopkins caught seven balls on 11 targets for 79 yards. The Patriots defense wasn’t good for much of this game, and you could make a strong case that the result would’ve been different had Murray not suffered his knee injury.

Nevertheless, a win is a win, and New England will take it, along with sole possession of the AFC’s final playoff spot.

The Patriots improved to 7-6 with the victory while Arizona dropped to 4-9 with the loss. New England now will prepare for next Sunday afternoon’s road game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Here are three studs and three duds from a weird night at State Farm Stadium:

STUDS
CB/WR/KR Marcus Jones
The rookie wasn’t necessarily great at anything, but he saw significant playing time in all three phases. Jones played a ton on defense with the Patriots shorthanded in the secondary, and his usage on offense saw an uptick with New England down a pair of receivers. He also once again served as the primary return specialist. Coming up with an easy interception was the cherry on top of a solid and extremely busy day for the positionless third-rounder.

RB Pierre Strong
Was thrust into action with Stevenson forced from the game and delivered 90 all-purpose yards, including a 44-yard run in the third quarter and a short touchdown in the fourth. It was hard to come up with three studs from this game, but Strong gets a nod for delivering some of New England’s biggest plays.

QB Mac Jones
Jones didn’t put on an elite performance, but he was good enough to get a win and that’s all that matters. He made plays despite more shoddy offensive line play and being down his top two receivers, and he’s not to blame for a first-half interception that was a product of Hunter Henry whiffing on a block. This was a solid-but-unspectacular game for the sophomore quarterback.

Honorable mentions: Josh Uche, Matthew Judon, Hunter Henry, Kevin Harris, Nick Folk, Jahlani Tavai

DUDS
Front seven
A disappointing effort from this group. Conner averaged 5.7 yards per carry and dragged half the defense on his first-half touchdown. New England’s defensive line should’ve dominated against Arizona’s average-at-best offensive line, but instead, it got pushed around — especially when the game was close. The pass rush also largely was non-existent until late in the game, though it’s hard to make too many complaints when the defense finished with six sacks, including three from Josh Uche.

Trent Brown
Just not good enough. Brown gave up multiple quarterback pressures and stuffed runs in this game and also was flagged for a false start. The monstrous tackle hasn’t looked right in a while, with a lingering sickness potentially to blame. Whatever the reason for his struggles, Brown must get things cleaned up in a hurry.

Coaching
The Patriots committed eight penalties, ran a rudimentary offense and at times got torn up by McCoy, a career backup. They had to burn a timeout before the third play of the second half to avoid a second delay-of-game penalty. New England once again played a sloppy, undisciplined brand of football — and that’s on the coaches. That this performance came after a mini-bye week and against an inferior opponent makes things even worse, as does the fact that Matt Patricia called screen after screen against a defensive coordinator who knew he was going to do it.

Honorable mentions: Nelson Agholor, Jonnu Smith, Jonathan Jones, Devin McCourty, David Andrews, Michael Palardy