Boy, the Patriots had no business being in a position to win that game, especially with the stupid decisions being made by Mike McCarthy, but they were. Ultimately, they fell in overtime to the Cowboys. Here are your ups and downs from week six.

Ups ⬆️

Justin Bethel

Bethel had a great game yesterday, he tipped a pass from Prescott which was intercepted by Dugger, a rare defensive play by him, but in a pinch where backups were being used a bunch, he came up and caused a huge turnover. In addition to his work on defense, he also caused a fumble on the Cowboys punt return, unfourtunatley, the Patriots couldn’t recover and Dallas kept possesion. Bethel was an up for sure.

Running Backs

A better day for the backs as a banged up Harris rushed for a touchdown and over 100 yards, Stevenson also scored his first career touchdown which was cool to see. This needs to continue, but a better day for this group, perhaps we could try J.J. Taylor once more in place of Bolden?

A weird, weird game that ended with the Patriots pulling off a 13-point comeback to win and move to 2-3 on the season. Here are your ups and downs from Week 5!

Ups ⬆️

Offensive Line

The performance by the line yesterday was far from perfect, but, given the team was dealing with an unprecedented situation, I thought they did a good job overall. David Andrews was the only regular starter to play as backups were plugged in at positions across the line. And for the most part, they protected the QB.

The line is still one of my biggest concerns for this team, but, yesterday was the first time this season I had something positive to say about the unit. Something to build on for sure.

Nick Folk

The missed extra point aside, Folk was crucial for the Patriots once again as he smashed through four field goals to continue his impressive stint with the team. I felt for Folk after his game-ending miss last week against the Bucs, but he managed to bounce back this week. He’s been one of the more reliable players on the team, and long may it continue.

Matt Judon

Matt Judon is a MACHINE! Wow, he just keeps on impressing following another strong performance against Houston. In a day when the defense was lacking, Judon again was the bright spark who was able to make some plays. His two-sack game moved his tally to 6.5 for the season, eclipsing Chase Winovich who led the team with 5.5 sacks last year.

My thoughts turn to who else is going to step up and support Judon at this level, if more players can chip in, it will make it more difficult for the opposition to scheme against his attacking threat.

Hunter Henry

TE Alert! For the second straight game, Hunter Henry has caught a touchdown. It’s felt like an eternity since the team had players at the TE position making scoring plays in the red zone, but for two weeks straight they’ve managed to produce. Henry had a nice day, making a number of crucial third-down catches to help out Mac Jones, he finished with 6/8 – 75 YDS – 1TD.

Downs ⬇️

Damien Harris

Ah, that was a tough one to take. A great game to watch, exciting, nailbiting, encouraging, but crushing at the same time. Let’s have a quick recap of the Patriots ups and downs from the loss to the Bucs on the night Tom Brady returned to Gillette Stadium.

Ups ⬆️

Mac Jones

Mac went toe to toe with Tom Brady on a night where he did little wrong, but he continues to be let down by his offensive line. Jones took plenty of hits and also overcame an early interception to finish with 31/40 275 yards – 2 TDs – 1 INT. I think this game really told me a lot about Mac’s character, not awed by the occasion, he just put his head down and worked, and almost helped the team win. Not without some rookie errors, but another positive performance.

Receivers

I thought the position group as a whole deserved mentioning, they all chipped in with decent performances. Jakobi Meyers led the group with 8 catches for 70 yards, another solid performance by him, barring a fumble which went in the Patriots favor, he was reliable again for Mac. As I said last week, with James White out for the year, Meyers will be crucial in Mac’s development.

Elsewhere, Bourne and Agholor chipped in with some important catches, Bourne specifically was able to get hot in the first half and managed to get open a fair bit.

Matt Judon

Another good game for Judon, who was the only player to really put any pressure on Brady, getting to him a number of times and recording a sack. Judon, who can’t be missed with his trademark long red sleeves is leading the pass-rush attack and as I said after the Saints game, he’s the only FA addition who’s earning the money he’s been paid.

Secondary

I thought the secondary played well, they managed the limit the GOAT to just 269 yards and kept one of the best pass-catching attacks out of the endzone all night. Jonathan Jones did a good job covering AB for most of the night, even when he was struggling with a tight calf. Elsewhere J.C. Jackson did a good job covering Mike Evans and all in all, I was pleased with the group’s contribution. With Gilmore potentially returning in the next few weeks, this performance was something to build on for sure.

Downs ⬇️

J.J. Taylor

We’ve been screaming for one of the depth-option backs to get more involved in the offense, Taylor got his chance and blew it with a fumble. Again the ball security issues arise, troubling stuff, don’t be surprised if he’s inactive next week.

Offensive Line

It’s not getting much better, is it? The line wasn’t great again, couldn’t help establish the run, and offered hardly any substantial protection for Jones. Mike Onwenu got benched after multiple holding penalties on the same drive and Durant stopped hardly anything from the right side. Teddy K came in and did ok at left guard for a while. To add further headaches to the line questions, earlier today both Isaiah Wynn and Onwenu were placed on the COVID list, likely ruling them out of the game in Houston next Sunday. Can Trent Brown return this year at all, please?

Gunner Olszewski

I’m being a little picky here, but Gunner gets on the list for his muffed catch that fortunately hit the endzone pylon to avoid catastrophe. I still hold out hope Gunner will get hot again like he did last year in the return game, but with the microscope on ball security, we can’t have that.

Yesterday wasn’t fun, the Patriots were awful. But, we dust ourselves down and reflect ahead of TB12’s return home next Sunday. I’m going to keep this one short, I could add a lot more in the downs column, but I’ll keep it to the main ones that stuck out to me. Here are your ups and downs from yesterday’s loss to the Saints.

James White

First I just wanted to add a quick note about James White’s injury yesterday. It might sound odd, but that’s what bummed me out the most yesterday, I was crestfallen to see him get carted off the field with a serious hip injury. I hope it’s not the last we’ve seen of him, he’s one of my favorite Patriots ever.

Ups ⬆️

Matt Judon

Judon stood out among all others on the defense yesterday. A couple of sacks to go along with a disruptive day for Judon, who’s been the only free agent pickup playing anywhere near close to how much he was paid. We’ll need more like that from him, especially next week.

Jakobi Meyers

Sign this man to a multi-year extension please, just keep him around. Jakobi Meyers is WR 1, he’s proven time and again he’s the best wideout on the roster, yesterday he hauled in 9 targets for 94 yards, a good day for him.

Kendrick Bourne

Bourne showed glimpses of what he could perhaps bring to the offense when it gets going (hopefully). His touchdown grab was impressive on the sideline with a tight rope walk to stay inbounds and score his first as a Patriot. He also finished with a career day, 6 catches for 96 yards along with the touchdown.

Downs ⬇️

The Offensive Line

It’s like banging your head against a wall, the line is hampering any potential progress for the offense currently. I honestly don’t know what needs to be fixed, but they need to try something different, mix payers around and try and find a new working dynamic. Hopefully Trent Brown will be back for the Bucs game, he just makes things better.

Jonnu Smith

I have not been impressed by Smith so far in the regular season, which is a real shame because by all reports he was coming along well in the preseason. He had a horrible game yesterday, couldn’t block, and dropped a catchable ball into a pick-six which effectively sealed the game for the Saints. He’s doing all he can to find his way into Bill’s doghouse, the team needs a lot more from him.

LB Dont’a Hightower

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’ve hardly noticed Hightower out there at all, he’s really been a non-factor through the first few weeks and it was the same yesterday. He’s getting paid well for not a whole lot in return right now, another trending theme, a veteran that the team needs more from.