Patriots’ offense is boring, but at least the rookies are exciting (Overreactions)

The last time the New England Patriots took the field, Mac Jones was dropping F-bombs about how the “short game” stunk amid overall frustration over how the offense was being run.

Eight days later, they took the field against the Arizona Cardinals and didn’t appear to really fix anything. They threw a ton of screens that didn’t work really well. Jones spent much of the night running for his life — and was once again caught swearing by TV cameras.

Still, the Patriots managed to win a sloppy game in the desert, thanks in large part to some big contributions from what’s looking like a really fun rookie class.

Let’s take a look at Monday night’s wild ride in the desert, which ended in a 27-13 Patriots victory.

The Patriots offense was called out for being boring – and stayed boring.

“It’s a very conservative pass game. Lots of screens. All kinds of screens.”

That’s the way Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph described the Patriots offense under Matt Patricia this past week. Joseph added that it looked like how a defensive coach would call plays on offense, which is exactly what Patricia is in the eyes on many.

Well, it turns out Joseph was right. The Patriots were conservative and threw a lot of screens against Arizona on Monday night. Some of them worked. Most of them were part of a bland sluggish brand of offense for New England.

It’s the sort of thing fans have been complaining about all season. It’s the same thing Jones was yelling about against the Buffalo Bills when he was seen yelling “(Expletive) quick game sucks!”

For much of the night, it didn’t really look like the Patriots changed a whole lot. They spent much of the night in shotgun and went to their standby rotation of quick screens to receivers on the outside and quick tosses to running backs in the flat.

There were a few exceptions, like when Jones hit Hunter Henry on a beautiful seam route for 39 yards. But overall, the Patriots’ quick game was very much front and center.

To be fair, health likely played a part there.

New England is all sorts of beat up.

The Patriots are dealing with key injuries up and down the roster.

They’re without three right tackles (Isaiah Wynn, Marcus Cannon, Yodny Cajuste) and had to go with former Jets practice squader Conor McDermott.

They were without starting quarterback Jalen Mills. Then they lost budding rookie Jack Jones to injury.

Running back Damien Harris (thigh) started the game sidelined. Then Rhamondre Stevenson joined him with an ankle injury.

Receiver Jakobi Meyers was absent and has been banged up all year. DeVante Parker left the game early with a head injury.

Overall, Monday night’s game was a war of attrition, with both teams sustaining major injuries (the biggest of which being Kyler Murray’s knee injury).

The 2022 rookie class is all sorts of fun.

It’s pretty telling that, of the Patriots’ first seven draft picks this year, the least exciting playing right now might just be the second-round receiver who ran a 4.28 in the 40-yard dash.

The Patriots have seen some dynamic contributions from their rookie class this season, with the rookie running backs sparking the offense to life after Stevenson left the game. Let’s break it down:

OL Cole Strange: Started his 12th game this season and seems to be hanging in there despite some midseason regression.

WR Tyquan Thornton: Caught four passes for 28 yards, continues to come along after a preseason injury.

CB Marcus Jones: Is having an awesome season as a punt and kick returner. He also scored a touchdown last week as a wide receiver. This week, he had a huge hit on defense and also recorded his first interception.

CB Jack Jones: Has shown promising instincts in coverage this season and had a pick-six off of Aaron Rodgers. However, he did leave this game due to injury.

RB Pierre Strong: Stepped up with Stevenson going down, taking five carries for 70 yards and a touchdown.

RB Kevin Harris: Carried most of the load after Stevenson left the game, scoring a much-needed touchdown from 14 yards out in the second quarter to get things going.

Joe Burrow doesn’t sound super jazzed to be traveling to New England on Christmas Eve.

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback appeared on ESPN’s Manning Cast Monday night and talked with former NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. With the Bengals heading to New England on Saturday, Burrow had the following exchange with Peyton Manning regarding the weather:

Peyton: “I gotta tell you, playing in the middle of winter in New England against Belichick wasn’t exactly my favorite experience. Are you looking forward to it?

Burrow: “Yeah, I’m sure the weather is going to be nice and sunny and warm on Christmas Eve. I’m really looking forward to that little weather vacation.”

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