The New England Patriots’ 2021 season ended with a thud, in more ways than one. While the season turned out better than many probably expected, including after a mixed bag to start the year, the end of the season has to leave fans wanting but also optimistic on the whole.
Early on, the Patriots couldn’t pull out a few games, but were right there just about all the time. They were not far off from being a couple of games better than their record. They really turned the tide with a seven-game winning streak, and all of a sudden had a real shot at even being the top seed in the AFC. This was, to say the least, unthinkable before the season.
Then came the thud.
It was easy to think the Patriots just might reload and contend ahead of schedule again. With a rookie quarterback along with a solid cast of newcomers via the free agent route, the Patriots were a mystery entering this season. A playoff team? Far from a given. Contending for the top spot? A big pleasant surprise.
Reality then set in after the bye week late in the season. The Patriots had been out-classed just once all season – back in week three against the Saints – but then were out-classed in losses to the Colts, Bills and Dolphins in the final four weeks of the regular season. Sure, they made the game with the Colts look interesting late, but they looked like the plane never left Foxboro for the first three quarters and paid the price on the bottom line.
But that wasn’t all. Would they learn from being handled by Buffalo in the rubber match? Not even close. In the second regular season meeting, the Patriots’ defense never forced a punt all day, then with more on the line the Bills scored touchdowns on every possession except the final one of the game (in which they took a knee) in manhandling the Patriots 47-17 to send the Patriots home for the season.
It was not a good end to the season, especially since this meant the Patriots were out-classed in four of their final five games. It’s one thing to lose when the other team simply plays better, but that isn’t what happened in these losses.
The optimism for the future comes from the fact that this team was better than expected, grew for a lot of the season and appears to have a lot of great pieces in place. They have their quarterback in Mac Jones. They have good young running backs and saw Brandon Bolden, long a great special teams player but not much more than a bit player offensively, become reborn in the absence of James White. They have a capable defense. A lot of this team should be back next season. And they have a legend calling the shots on the sideline.
But there is plenty of reason for the optimism to be guarded.
Start with the quarterback. Jones impressed for a lot of the season, and you could be forgiven for thinking the Patriots made out better than even Jacksonville among teams with rookie signal callers (the Jaguars were a disaster for a lot of reasons this year). But he also looked shaky later in the season, throwing seven interceptions in the four losses to end the season including two in Buffalo. He grew with this cast of receivers for much of the season, but his performance late in the season makes you wonder if the league isn’t adjusting to him faster than he’s adjusting to the league.
The running game was great, but the offensive line is a concern. In recent years this has been an undeniable strength, but they looked shaky at times. Isaiah Wynn is talented, but misses games; he missed the playoff loss and has yet to play a full season. He is under contract next season, but is he soon to be viewed as a once-promising player, not unlike N’Keal Harry? It’s a good unit, but how much growth potential they have is in question, and at first glance the depth they have had in recent years – time was when one player would go down and the next guy would step in and it would be like nothing happened – doesn’t appear to be present.
Then there’s the defense. For much of the season, the defense didn’t seem very good. Teams gained yards on them often, although the Patriots often did a good job of stopping teams once they got in the red zone. But let’s just say that it was shocking to find that the Patriots were actually among the NFL’s best teams defensively, because it sure didn’t feel like it watching the games, especially late in the season. Matthew Judon was a star for a while, but was on a milk carton during the late-season fade.
The secondary is promising, especially as Kyle Dugger and Adrian Phillips grow and Devin McCourty seems ageless. But there is a big question aside from how much more McCourty has left in the tank and at a high level: what is J.C. Jackson’s future? There were questions about him before, with some wondering if the only good stat with him is interceptions, but he shined in other respects en route to becoming one of the league’s elite cornerbacks. He’s due for a big payday, but do the Patriots love him enough to pay him like a top cornerback? If past is prologue, it seems unlikely, and that would be a big hit to this unit. It doesn’t help that the Patriots don’t have much cap space this off-season.
The season didn’t end well at all for the Patriots, both in the micro and the macro. But there is plenty to be optimistic about on the whole, even if there are questions. The off-season moves will tell the tale, as is often the case, both in terms of personnel moves and how younger talent works to improve and adjust.