If you were looking for signs of life from the New England Patriots offense on Monday night, a three-point win over the New York Jets might not qualify.
But maybe it should.
Perhaps it was not the offensive explosion that Patriots fans were hoping for, but the New England offense put 30 points on the board over nine drives, culminating in the game-winning field goal on the final play. They did not turn the football over, and in contrast to their loss to the Buffalo Bills, when given the chance to pull out a win over a division rival in the closing minutes, the offense delivered.
Yes, the Jets were 0-8 coming into the game, but a win is a win. Style points do not count.
Much of the angst surrounding the Patriots offense right now stems from worries over the passing game. If you dive into the numbers, over the past two weeks quarterback Cam Newton has completed 42 of 60 passes for 448 yards, no touchdowns, but also no interceptions. Over that same span of time Newton has also carried the football 19 times for 70 yards and three touchdowns.
Beyond that, Newton’s QBR of 90.1 in Week 9 placed him sixth in the league, behind Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco (sigh), Kyler Murray and Matt Ryan.
One data point, but Newton’s best QBR of the season, even surpassing his numbers in the narrow loss to the Seattle Seahawks back in Week 2.
Are there similar signs of growth on film? There are. In this film breakdown we’ll look at three plays from Newton against the Jets and highlight a few things: two- and three-receiver concepts, quiet mechanics, manipulation that matters, and pocket movement.
If you are hoping for a second-half turnaround from the offense, and specifically the passing game, you are hoping to see more of this.