New England Patriots links 1/10/22 - Stumbling, bumbling not a winning way to head into the playoffs

TEAM TALK

• Post Game Notes: Patriots at Dolphins. Brandon Bolden has second two-touchdown day of his career; More.
• Mike Dussault gives us his key takeaways from the regular-season-ending loss. 1. Slow start strikes again.
• Erik Scalavino’s Game Observations: Late-arriving Patriots fall short yet again.
• Paul Perillo reports The Patriots and Bills will meet for the third time on Saturday night.
• Erik Scalavino reports the Patriots finalize their 2022 opponents.
• Post Game Quotes: Patriots
• From the NFL: Wild Card Weekend schedule announced.
• Press Conferences: Bill Belichick - Mac Jones - Devin McCourty - Hunter Henry - Brandon Bolden - Matthew Slater.
• What Went Wrong: Turnover battle costs the Patriots. (2 min. video)

LOCAL LINKS

• Mark Daniels explains how Mac Jones shows promise and gives the Patriots hope even throughout their worst losses of the season.
• Karen Guregian relays Bill Belichick on playing the Bills: ‘We need to put our best football out there Saturday night.’
• Zack Cox relays Bill Belichick on facing the Bills Saturday night. “(The Bills are a) good team, obviously. Third seed in the conference, so we know they’re a good team. They certainly played well in the last game we had against them. We have a lot to get ready for.”
• Zack Cox gives us an early Patriots-Bills forecast: Sub-zero wind chills expected for playoff game.
• Karen Guregian says it’s tough to have much confidence in this team, no matter who they face in the playoffs.
• Nick Goss takes a look at how the Patriots have fared when facing an opponent for the third time
• Alex Barth says the Patriots 2022 opponents are set with the end of the NFL regular season.
• Darren Hartwell sees several intriguing NFC matchups ahead in 2022.
• Evan Lazar tells us ten things we learned from yesterday’s 33-24 loss to the Dolphins. “After getting out-scripted for the third time in four games, the Patriots found themselves down 14-zip in a blink of an eye.” 1. Pats QB Mac Jones picking the wrong time to play like a rookie.
• Mike Reiss recaps New England’s costly mental mistakes during a frustrating loss in Miami that will lead to an early postseason exit if not corrected.
• Steve Hewitt writes how on ‘Sunday, the Patriots were making mistakes commonly seen in training camp, not meaningful games in January.’
• Mike Reiss relays Mac Jones on his ‘super embarrassing’ performance, with an interception returned for a touchdown and a lost a fumble.
• Karen Guregian talks about how the Pats’ defense still falls short during critical junctures.
• Nick Goss points out the Patriots were one of the NFL’s most improved teams in this important stat: Scoring differential.
• Dakota Randall highlights Bill Belichick’s optimistic injury updates on Christian Barmore and Isaiah Wynn.
• Mike Reiss shares some quick-hit weekend thoughts: Patriots’ bold predictions in 2021 revisited, for better or worse.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Jenny Vrentas (SI) Mac Jones’s first impression: Last spring he was the most polarizing prospect in the draft. Now, as the 2021 regular season closes, Mac Jones is an Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner. A look at why he had early success, how it will affect the next round of quarterback evaluations, and what it all means for Jones’s future.
• Albert Breer (SI) Monday Morning QB: Raiders-Chargers near tie provides drama as wild season heads to playoffs; Plus, how the Bills have grown, Jimmy Garoppolo’s moment, full postseason pictures, season award picks, scouting the national title game and more.
• Peter King (ProFootballTalk) FMIA Week 18: ‘Sometimes you get a sense.’ Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers crash NFL playoffs – barely!
• Jacob Rosenfarb (PFF) NFL Week 18 game recap: Miami Dolphins 33, New England Patriots 24. ‘Miami’s secondary neutralized New England’s effectiveness through the air, conceding just 136 yards and four first downs on eight receptions.’
• Around the NFL (NFL.com) Week 18: What we learned from Sunday’s games. 1. The Dolphins might not be going to the playoffs, but they managed to notch a season sweep of the Pats. 2. Tua Tagovailoa got the better of Mac Jones.
• Staff (NFL.com) NFL announces Super Wild Card Weekend schedule.
• Jeff Chadiha (NFL.com) NFL playoffs: What to like, dislike about 12 teams playing on Super Wild Card Weekend.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Dolphins fire Brian Flores. /Bad move by Miami.
• Frank Schwab (Yahoo! Sports) Shocker: After three promising seasons, Dolphins fire coach Brian Flores.
• Charles Robinson (Yahoo! Sports) If Joe Judge is going to surrender like that, the Giants should give up on him too
• Jon Wertheim (SI) Q&A: Examining the highs, lows and doinks of the current state of NFL kicking.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Tony Corrente will retire after the season.
• Mike Kadlick says he will never understand why the Chargers & Raiders weren’t actively trying to tie Sunday night.
• David Purdum (ESPN) Sportsbooks avoid historic loss when Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders narrowly dodge tie in finale.
• Dan Parr & Chase Goodbread (NFL.com) 2022 NFL Draft order: First 18 picks locked in.