A 35-yard field goal miss off the foot of Chad Ryland for a second consecutive game iced any hopes of a potential comeback rally for the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Fitting.
Ryland, the rookie kicker Bill Belichick traded up for and selected in the fourth-round of the 2023 NFL draft, missed a chip shot to take the game into overtime. It was another disappointing end to a horrific season for Belichick and company.
But even as bad as the Ryland miss was on Sunday, things were equally as bad with the Patriots offense. After a brutal performance in Week 10 against the Indianapolis Colts, Mac Jones was still given the nod to start at quarterback for the Patriots, and the third-year signal-caller looked even worse than he did in the previous week.
He went 18-of-26 passing for no touchdowns and two interceptions, before getting benched in the first half. Not only did Jones not look like the answer as the starting quarterback for the Patriots, but he didn’t look like the answer as a backup, either.
Bobby Okereke has the @Giants second INT of the half
📺: #NEvsNYG on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/1dOevJjoZZ pic.twitter.com/5y1Ytmcgvr— NFL (@NFL) November 26, 2023
Bailey Zappe played in the second half of the game with Jones being benched. He wasn’t lighting the world on fire, and he did throw an interception. But he also led the Patriots on their one and only scoring drive in the game.
The good news is the Patriots are still projected to land one of the top-three picks in the 2024 NFL draft. The bad news is they are still arguably the worst team in football.
Sure, the defense played well throughout the game and looked prepared for the matchup. But Belichick doesn’t deserve brownie points for coaching up a defense. If that’s the case, then maybe he should drop the head coaching job and take up his mantle as a defensive coordinator again.
A trip back to Foxborough for a Week 13 meeting with the Los Angeles Chargers is next up for the Patriots. Knocking off Justin Herbert and the Chargers will be a far more daunting task than what the Patriots faced against Tommy DeVito and the Giants.
Buckle up, Patriots fans. There are even greater lows to be had for the freefalling Patriots.
