New England Patriots' Week 2 Report Card
The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks always turn in spectacular games. Sunday night was no different, with yet another classic between the two teams being decided at the goal-line in a 35-30 loss for New England .
The Patriots were stuffed at the one-yard line which resulted in a loss for them in Week 2,, however, New England fans should pick up your heads, because the performance from the six-time Super Bowl champions was actually very encouraging. While there are still obviously a lot of kinks to work out for this team, they showed Sunday tonight that they are contenders.
Let's go over the grades for each Patriots positional group.
Quarterback: A
Cam Newton had some ups and downs in the early goings. However, once the fourth quarter rolled around, Newton seemingly couldn't be stopped.
He did an impeccable job in this game, resorting to the air, impressing mostly with his arm, as opposed to last week with his legs. The fact that he was able to lead the comeback bid was a fantastic step in the right direction for this offense, even if it fell short.
If I am the Patriots, I am jumping with joy that Newton has the ability to move the ball down the field through the air, with this receiving core, against a playoff team like the Seahawks.
Runningback: B-
Nothing really overly impressive here. Sony Michel didn't have much of an impact on the game. He got mostly what was blocked for him. Josh McDaniels kept resorting back to Michel in the early goings and it just didn't seem to be getting much.
Rex Burkhead got snaps down the stretch, as he provided value as a screen-pass back. He had a few nice plays that moved the chains for New England. He was really the go-to guy in this game, as Michel offered little and J.J. Taylor only registered one carry.
A part of that runningback group is also Jakob Johnson. He also had a great game blocking, along with catching a touchdown pass from Newton at the goal-line. He's been great so far, taking over and filling the shoes of the retired James Develin.
Wide receiver: A-
This whole group was encouraging. Julian Edelman had a monster game, grabbing eight catches for 179 yards. Hopefully, Edelman goes to see a specialist after the game as he took some fatal looking shots to the neck. The tough receiver continued to get up and make plays in the second half of this ball game. Although, one would have liked to see him come up with that tough, high, dropped pass in the end zone at the end of the game.
Damiere Byrd was someone who was mentioned as a player to watch this week in my piece, "3 Patriots Players to Watch in Week 2 Matchup vs. Seahawks". Byrd was a great matchup versus the Seattle defense's style of play. He got involved early and often. He had six catches for 72 yards off of nine targets. He's a player who offers a lot of upside moving forward.
N'Keal Harry recorded 72 yards himself, however, off eight catches. A lot of his catches came off short screen passes. While there were some ups and downs from him in this game, two catches stood out the most. Funny enough, they were his first catch, then his last catch of the game. The first catch he hauled in was a hospital ball over the middle, where he was hit so hard in helmet-to-helmet contact by Quandre Diggs. Diggs would be ejected for that hit.
The fact that Harry held on through the contact, was fantastic. Then later, the last catch, got New England down to the one-yard line with :03 seconds left. Both catches he showed sure hands, an encouraging sign from him.
Overall, this receiving core probably could have done a little more to help win this ball-game. Nevertheless, they exceeded expectations on what they were capable of. A phenomenal sign moving forward.
Tight end: C
There were solid catches from Ryan Izzo here and there, however, this position was a non-factor in most of the contest. It's almost like this position didn't really exist. It's hard to really give this position a grade when they are not really a part of the gameplan. Unless you include Michael Onwenu in the conversation. For this case, he counts under offensive line.
Offensive line: B+
The offensive line had a pretty great showing against Seattle, especially down the stretch. They gave Newton ample time to throw. Onwenu has been a really great and interesting addition to the end of this line. He even took over at right tackle at points during the game.
The offensive line was pretty spectacular once again tonight. However, one thing that gives me a hard time putting an "A" up there for this unit is the last play. The line had the numbers advantage. It was five guys versus four on the left side of the line. Newton obviously wasn't able to punch it in.
It's hard to get upset about one play, however, New England's offense line did get manhandled when it mattered most.
Defensive line: B
This was a group that had a real case of ups and downs. The defensive line, especially Chase Winovich, really found ways to pressure Russell Wilson at times during the game. Winovich has really been impressive through the first two games of the season.
Bringing Wilson down was another story.
While the team registered two sacks, they had a real hard time bringing Wilson down. He would frequently escape and make a play, which they really could not afford to let him do.
On top of all that, they let Chris Carson run all over them. Which was okay to some degree. It seemed like the gameplan was to let Carson run around and try to stop Wilson through the air. Unfortunately, they did neither tonight.
Linebackers: C-
Ja'Whaun Bentley really struggled at points in this game. Especially early on, Bentley seemingly had an angle or path to make every tackle, however, let the runner get right by him due to flat feet. The Patriots learned early on that he would not be a reliable player to QB spy Wilson. Bentley stood like a statue as Wilson blew past him for 21-yard gain, up the middle of the defense at one point.
Bentley will have a tough time in film review this week.
Secondary: D
One of the biggest takeaways here? Wilson is very good. In fact, he was nearly unstoppable. One of the league's best secondaries started the game off in zone. Wilson decided he would be patient and chip away at this defense underneath with seven-yard gain after seven-yard gain. After being forced to adjust, Wilson would hit this defense over the top in man coverage. There was almost no right answer for the leading MVP-candidate at the moment.
In my piece, "3 Keys to Victory for Patriots in Week 2 vs. Seahawks", I talked about how the New England defense really had to be on their A game tonight. Clearly, as you can see from their grade, they were not. They let Russ cook in Week 2. Unfortunately, when you let Russ cook, you tend to get burned bad.
Special teams: B-
This spot gets a high ranking simply because of Jake Bailey. Bailey is a phenomenal punter. However, when it comes to kicking, Nick Folk showed yet again that he is not a reliable field goal kicker, especially from a distance. While his lone miss Sunday night came from 51 yards out, he has shown over the last year that he cannot relief upon on kicks above 40 yards. Anything above that is really shaky for him.
Get the latest Patriots news by joining the community. Click "Follow" at the top right of the page. Mobile users click the notification bell.
