The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
New England plans to focus on details after loss
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Patriots made some big plays in their season opener against the Dolphins. They were overshadowed by bigger mistakes.
New England had more first downs than Miami, converted a higher percentage of third downs, had more success running the ball, and finished with more total yards. It wasn’t enough to overcome a rash of penalties, poor red-zone performance and bad ball security in a 17-16 loss.
While there is no cause for panic this early, Sunday’s setback did provide some evidence that the Patriots’ rebuilt roster has some fine-tuning to do.
“We have excitement because we know how hard we will work … and watch the tapes in a manner that will allow us to progress into next week,” receiver Nelson Agholor said. “A game like this isn’t something that will send us in
the wrong direction, it is going to send us in a positive direction.”
Agholor was one several offseason free agents who made a solid debut in New England. He caught five passes for a team-high 72 yards, helping rookie quarterback Mac Jones settle into his first NFL start.
Jones had a fumble on the game’s opening drive, but was mostly steady as New England’s first rookie quarterback to start the season opener since Drew Bledsoe in 1993. Jones was efficient, completing 29 of 39 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown. But he said he left the field thinking more about the offense failing to convert touchdowns on three of its four red-zone opportunities.
“I think being the quarterback, I need to do a better job, demanding better in
practice. Sometimes I just let things slide, myself included,” Jones said. “That’s not good enough. So I’m going to try and be more vocal, and I am a vocal person, but it’s kind of a new situation and I can be better. But it starts with me.”
WHAT’S WORKING
New England’s defense allowed two touchdowns but ended the game looking more like the unit that was the league’s stingiest in 2019 than the one that finished ranked middle of the pack last season.
The Dolphins were held to 4 of 11 (36.4%) on third downs and only seven points in the second half. Jonathan Jones also had a fourthquarter interception to give the offense a chance to win the game.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
Sunday’s eight penalties were New England’s most since it also had eight during a 28-22 loss to Houston in Week 13 of the 2019 season, a span of 20 games.
The Patriots were the league’s least-penalized team in 2020 and only had more than five penalties in a game four times last season.
“In the end, it’s too many,” Belichick said. “I didn’t see a lot of penalties that were caused by mental errors out there. But whatever the cause is, we’ve got to try to commit fewer of them.”
STOCK UP
After seemingly losing his job to undrafted rookie Quinn Nordin and beginning the week on the practice squad, Nick Folk was elevated to the 53-man roster prior to the game and resumed his 2020 role as Patriots kicker.
Folk probably will keep the role for Week 2 after connecting on his attempts from 27, 42 and 33 yards. It extended his streak of consecutive made field goals to 29, second in team history behind Stephen Gostkowski with 31 straight makes.