The New England Patriots suffered their third-consecutive loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night, and everyone is receiving their share of the blame.
The Patriots scored just 10 points in their latest outing against the Bills, seeing a rookie defensive back score their only touchdown in a pitiful offensive showing. So whether it be offensive play-caller Matt Patricia, quarterback Mac Jones or head coach Bill Belichick, the Amazon Prime postgame crew took turns teeing off on New England after another bad loss to its AFC East rival at Gillette Stadium.
Things started off with what has become the status quo in recent weeks. Patricia was called out for his uninspiring play calling by former Pro-Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman.
“They weren’t calling the right plays,” Sherman said. “That’s something we talked about earlier, about Matt Patricia finding a rhythm and finding an offensive game plan. That’s why you hire an offensive coordinator!”
The man responsible for naming the Patriots’ offensive coordinator? That would be Belichick, who Sherman turned his attention to next.
“You’re giving Belichick too much credit,” Sherman said, as seen on Amazon’s postgame coverage. “I’ve talked about this before. People are always talking about Belichick, Belichick, Belichick. Tom Brady! Things have changed a lot without Tom Brady. He’s not here, and you can see he’s not here because in these situations, in these times, this time of year, Tom Brady is executing. Tom Brady at Gillette? You know you’re walking out of here with a (loss).”
The Brady-Belichick debate has been done to death, but Thursday’s game offered a reminder of what exactly the Patriots seem to be missing. There is talent on the roster, but finding a way to utilize — and inspire confidence in it — successfully has been an issue.
“It’s a helpless feeling as a quarterback when you can feel that the play caller doesn’t trust you,” Ryan Fitzpatrick said in response to Sherman. “… Especially if you’re a second-year quarterback. That’s a hard position to be in. It’s not like he has a lot of pull … Matt Patricia is trying to figure it out as he goes and the frustration is boiling over with Mac Jones.”
