Worth the Watch: Yay or Nay? Week Four, Patriots vs. Buccaneers

In his return to New England, Tom Brady would finish the night completing 22 of 43 passes for 269 yards, while running back Leonard Fournette carried the ball 20 times for 91 yards. For the Patriots, Mac Jones proved that the Patriots future at the position is bright. The rookie completed 31 of 40 passes for 275 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Still, the story of the night would be missed opportunities, as well as a couple of bad breaks, mixed in with some cause for optimism heading into Week Five.

Prior to this Week Three matchup, Patriot Maven highlighted three players on offense and three players on defense which the fanbase might want to keep watch.

Let’s examine whether this six-pack of Patriots was ‘worth the watch’ on Sunday:

Mac Jones - Yay

Despite the extensive focus on Tom Brady’s return to New England, it was the current Patriots quarterback who might have made the biggest statement on the national stage. Jones showed a great deal of poise and command, finishing the night with a 78 percent completion percentage. During the Patriots two touchdown drives, Jones controlled the tempo, and made the most of the opportunities provided to him by New England’s pass protection. In the instances where the protection broke down, he demonstrated the ability to buy himself more time by picking up the blitz and making defenders miss. Above all, Jones never let the moment become too overwhelming for him. He showed maturity and reliability in pressure situations which should give Patriots fans significant hope for the future at the quarterback position.

Damien Harris - Nay

Despite Damien Harris being the team’s feature back, the 24-year-old finished the night with -4 yards on four rushing attempts, having been on the field for 36 offensive snaps. While much of the Pats inefficiency in running the ball on was due to poor blocking, Harris needs to be better than his showing on Sunday. When given the space to maneuver, Harris is capable of breaking for significant yardage. He can also be a factor when receiving out of the backfield, a trait which he exhibited during his days at Alabama. If the Pats’ woes in run protection continue, Harris may need to get a bit more creative with the ball…especially if he continues to be hammered at the line of scrimmage. Still, he is a talented back, who should adequately rebound from a subpar outing on Sunday night.

N’Keal Harry - Nay

In his 2021 debut, N’Keal took 15 snaps, finishing the night with one catch for 10 yards. While it may be a bit unfair to impose a negative evaluation on a just recently removed from injured reserve, and making his season debut, Harry is expected to contribute to the Pats passing game, sooner rather than later. His only reception was on his only target, which has been a common theme throughout his career. In years past, Harry has been much maligned for not achieving separation from his defenders. However, with fellow wideouts Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne and Jakobi Meyers all playing notable roles in the Pats vertical game, Harry can settle into a more specialized role; especially in the red zone. He has the talent to do so. Still, should he fail to find his niche in the Pats offense, the questions surrounding his fit in New England will only continue to linger.

Davon Godchaux - Yay…with a caveat

While Godchaux did not light up the stat sheet, he continues to provide a solid presence in the interior of the defensive line. The 26-year-old was on the field for 43 of 78 of New England’s defensive snaps, mostly in run-defensive alignments. He tallied three combined tackles from the nose tackle role. However, the Pats had occasional difficulty when attempting to prevent the Bucs from using the run to gain the first down. Tampa finished with eight rushing first downs, as opposed to the Patriots’ one. Tampa would finish the night with 119 overall rushing yards, including 91 ground yards from Leonard Fournette and one rushing touchdown from Ronald Jones. While Godchaux played well enough to earn a ‘Yay’ for his efforts, New England’s situational team run-defense still showed some seams in crucial moments.

Adrian Phillips - Yay

Phillips notched three tackles on Sunday night. However, per usual, his final stat line does not tell the entire story of just how valuable he is to the Patriots defensive game plan. With New England often deploying nickel/dime packages on Sunday (frequently going with three corners), Phillips saw the field for 86 percent of their defensive snaps. His versatility allowed him to be a factor on almost every snap, both as a box safety and even shifting up into coverage in a hybrid-linebacker role. With the possible exception of Matt Judon, Phillips has been at the top of the list of reliable and invaluable Patriots defenders.

Matt Judon - Yay

Speaking of Judon, he was once again the defensive star of the night. In fact, the argument that he has been such through the first four games of the season. Judon finished the night with one sack, two quarterback hits, and two tackles for a loss. However, he continues to show his prowess, by impacting nearly every play in which he takes a snap. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Judon’s game was his ability to read Tampa Bay’s play action schemes. Few, if any, have ever run play-action with the skill and savvy of Tom Brady. However, Judon was diligent in his defense, refusing to fall for the seven-time champ’s patented decoys. As a result, Judon was the Pats’ most important factor in both run and pass defense on Sunday night.