Points for the Pats offense
OFFENSIVE NOTES Game plan
Personnel: 82% of snaps in 11 personnel, 18% in 12 personnel.* Personnel production: 3.5 yards/play in 11 personnel, 2.4 yards/play in 12 personnel.
First down play-calls: 64% run (1.8 yards per play), 36% pass (4.5 yards per play) Play-action rate: 29.4%
Key areas
Third downs: 6-17 Red-zone efficiency: 1-2 Pressure rate allowed: 35.3%
Player stats
Broken tackles: Rhamondre Stevenson 4, Jonnu Smith 3, J.J. Taylor
Sacks allowed: Mac Jones 2, Yodny Cajuste, Team
QB hits allowed: Isaiah Wynn, Cajuste Hurries allowed: Cajuste 2, Trent Brown, James Ferentz, Wynn, Team
Run stuffs allowed: Team 3, James Ferentz 2, Cole Strange
Penalties: Brown (holding), Wynn (holding), Strange (illegal use of hands), LS Joe Cardona (false start on field goal)
Drops: Kendrick Bourne
Notes
A week after 20% of the Patriots’ offensive plays went backwards against the Jets, 38.5% of them resulted in no gain or negative yardage Sunday. That is beyond untenable. Poor offensive line play and questionable play-calling were central to these struggles. The Colts defense entered kickoff ranked third-worst in the league versus 12 personnel, yet Patricia deployed two-tight end packages on just 13% of the offense’s snaps before garbage time.
When the Patriots passed from 12 personnel, Jones was a perfect 3-for-3 for 14 yards. Hardly game-breaking numbers, but when you finish with 203 yards total, steady gains like that should suffice.
Tight end Hunter Henry also caught all four of his targets for 50 yards in one of his best games of the season. Henry deserved to be featured more, especially considering the Pats’ two longest gains were passes caught by tight ends.
Lastly, after dialing up 12 run-pass options (RPOs) with success against the Jets, Patricia curiously pulled back to six against Indy, despite similar issues with protection and early-down efficiency while facing a zoneheavy defense.
As for the offensive line, Cole Strange bombed again at left guard. Isaiah Wynn replaced him after two series and hardly impressed (with one QB hit and hurry allowed around a holding penalty), but nonetheless offered a better option than the struggling rookie. Elsewhere, lifetime reserve Yodny Cajuste was a vending machine for pressure early on at right tackle, and center James Ferentz struggled when run-blocking.
Overall on the ground, the Patriots gained 65 of their 70 rushing yards after contact, per Pro Football Focus; a perfect encapsulation of the precious few rushing lanes Rhamondre Stevenson and J.J. Taylor were afforded on hand-offs.
Right guard Mike Onwenu was the only O-lineman, yet again, to post a clean sheet. Between him and Stevenson, it’s a two-man race for best Patriots offensive player this season.
Two of the Patriots’ three longest runs were hand-offs Stevenson took behind a tight end serving as a lead blocker. Henry helped clear space on a first-and-20 run that gained 16 yards, and Jonnu Smith played fullback on a 10-yarder two drives later.
The Pats mostly tossed the two-back run concepts in their playbook when they decided against rostering a true fullback in the offseason, but it bears watching whether they’ll reincorporate some of those plays to jumpstart the run game after the bye.
As for the passing game, it’s troubling the Patriots couldn’t carve up the Colts’ base Cover 3 defense — a system they’ve historically shredded — better than they did. Indianapolis simply forced them to sustain drives with small, consistent gains, and they couldn’t. Former Pats cornerback Stephon Gilmore handled rookie wideout Tyquan Thornton (one catch on four targets), though Thornton had a would-be touchdown running a deep over from the slot that Jones missed in the third quarter.
Practice-squad wideout Lynn Bowden Jr. saw 14 offensive snaps in his team debut and first game action since Jan. 2020. He replaced Jakobi Meyers in the slot on two drives, seemingly to give him a breather. Meyers has battled a knee injury since the summer.
Handing the ball off to Rhamondre Stevenson is often the best move by the Patriots. On this play Sunday, he avoids Stephon Gilmore of the Indianapolis Colts.