Ezekiel Elliott Wanted To See This Change In Patriots’ Loss To Chiefs

FOXBORO, Mass. — Ezekiel Elliott was hoping for a bit more urgency from the Patriots offense in the second half of their loss to the Chiefs.

The veteran running back said New England should have pushed the tempo after Kansas City took a three-score lead late in the third quarter of Sunday’s 27-17 Patriots defeat at Gillette Stadium.

“I think we could have went a little faster, just definitely being down three scores in that last quarter,” Elliott, who started in place of the injured Rhamondre Stevenson, said after the game. “But I don’t know. It’s not up to me.”

No Matchup Found

Click here to enter a different Sportradar ID.

Story continues below advertisement

Instead, after the Chiefs kicked a field goal to go up 27-10, the Patriots responded with a three-and-out that drained 2:06 off the clock. Their next two drives went three-and-out, as well, culminating in punts on fourth-and-3 from their own 42-yard line and fourth-and-4 from their own 33.

Head coach Bill Belichick pointed to the Patriots’ myriad injuries while explaining why the Patriots — who scored a Bailey Zappe-to-Hunter Henry touchdown on fourth-and-2 in the first half — passed up those opportunities to go for it.

Left guard Cole Strange, left tackle Conor McDermott and Henry all exited the game with injuries and did not return. McDermott was starting in place of Trent Brown, who was inactive due to injury/illness.

“At that point, we’d lost three starters,” Belichick said. “We were worried about the pass protection, worried about whether we’d be able to execute in that situation. It felt like we were playing good defense. Get the ball back on a turnover or three-and-out, get the ball back with better field position.”

He added: “At the end there, it didn’t feel like we were able to do probably what we should have done in that situation.”

The Patriots’ only points after halftime after a Jahlani Tavai interception gave them prime field position at Kansas City’s 29. Elliott’s backup, Kevin Harris, capped that drive with an 18-yard touchdown run. New England’s seven other second-half possessions featured a total of one first down.

New England also continued huddling and substituting when they got the ball back at their own goal line, down 27-17, with four minutes remaining. The Patriots started that drive with one remaining timeout but never used it.

“We ended up in a check play there,” Belichick said. “We could have gone quicker.”

…not the strongest clock management I've seen trailing by two scores. pic.twitter.com/ViOXrekHhQ

— Chris Mason (@ByChrisMason) December 17, 2023

For the second straight week, the Patriots’ Zappe-led offense showed promise in the first half but flopped in the final two quarters. New England has scored just seven second-half points over Zappe’s three starts.

An ugly interception by Zappe on the Patriot’s first play of the second half was a killer. KC scored two plays later to take a 14-point lead and never looked back.

“It was just tough, because they went down and scored on their first drive of the second half, then (the turnover gave them possession) inside the 10,” said Elliott, who was held to 25 yards on 11 carries. “(Then we’re) down 14. That’s just a tough two-touchdown swing.”

Sunday’s loss bolstered the 3-11 Patriots’ chances of landing a premium pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, as they now sit just one game back of the 2-12 Carolina Panthers in the race for the first overall selection.