If Matt Patricia was upset over Vance Joseph's comments last week, he sure is doing a great job of hiding it.
Joseph, the Cardinals defensive coordinator, made headlines ahead of Monday night's matchup in Arizona by remarking on Patricia's job as the Patriots' offensive play-caller. Joseph, in a manner some viewed as condescending, said Patricia's conservative, screen-heavy approach makes sense given his background as a defensive coordinator. The comments clearly annoyed New England head coach Bill Belichick, and likely bothered Patricia, too.
However, Patricia and Joseph were all smiles Monday night when meeting at midfield after the Patriots' 27-13 victory at State Farm Stadium. During a Tuesday morning Zoom call, Patricia insisted that he and Joseph are on good terms.
"I've known Vance a long time," Patricia said. "Very competitive guy and has been in the league a long time. Vance is great, and he just was coming up to make sure I knew everything was great.
"I think all that got kind of maybe pushed out of perspective a little bit. So, all good."
Perhaps Joseph's comments were blown out of proportion -- but they also were right.
The Patriots were more conservative than ever before Monday night, calling screens and short passes ad nauseam against a bad Cardinals defense. Injuries to key players and poor offensive line play likely factored into the plan of attack, but the reality is New England's offense looked exactly as Joseph described it, if not more so.
The win gave New England a 7-6 record and moved it into sole possession of the AFC's final playoff spot. The Patriots will look for their second win in a row when they visit the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon.
