And so here we are, another victory road game Monday. They may not be clean, and they may not be pretty, the wins that is, but this is a team with a first year quarterback and more new pieces than I can count. Scrappy ain’t so bad.
Once again the Patriots got into Sam Darnold’s head, and the poor kid threw 3 interceptions. Against the Patriots Darnold has now stacked up 1 touchdown, 9 interceptions, and zero wins.
But it wasn’t all on Darnold, the Patriots offense didn’t bring the best versions of themselves to Carolina. The penalties for the offensive line-up were a little concerning, with false start calls on Jakobi Meyers, Isaiah Wynn and Hunter Henry, and an offensive holding call against Ted Karras. Not ideal.
The passer protection wasn’t as good as it has been either, still a work in progress I guess.
But for yet another game I can compliment the blocking of Jakob Johnson and reiterate how I will forever be “in” on the fullback position.
The Patriots defense played great, and as Bill always says, defense wins games! The interceptions by JC Jackson were delicious! He saw Stephon Gilmore’s one interception and raised him one! Two for JC and one for Jamie Collins and there was even a tip or two of the ball by Kyle Van Noy. You get an interception, you get an interception, everyone gets an interception… Halloween came a little late this year with interceptions getting given out like candy, and poor Darnold may have been seeing a few ghosts again.
Now, every week I hail the guy for being a baller, but Matt Judon is held more than a kid’s favourite teddy bear, and he still managed to get a hand on Darnold whilst being enveloped by an offensive lineman.
A name I know that was on many peoples lips, Christian Barmore, and well, the kid had himself a GAME!
The injury list is always a cause for concern but right now it’s getting rather long, and after this Carolina game, particularly on the running back front! Rhamondre Stevenson was really letting loose until he got caught out with a head injury. Mid way into the second quarter he showed Sean Chandler who was boss with not only a stiff arm but one that threw the guy outta the club! Boom!
Brandon Bolden continues to roll up and show up, proving he is a valuable part of the Patriots offense, and towards the end of the second quarter he made a great adjustment to turn and make a difficult catch. He pulled out the stutter step to get a good run and even pulled a trick on Stephon Gilmore gaining himself a few extra yards.
Hunter Henry maintains his “Mr Consistent” badge with his fifth Patriot touchdown in six games.
I think I gotta give a gold star to Mac Jones. He may not have had one of his best games, but he’s a rookie quarterback who not only “quarterbacks” really well, he pushes the pile, blocks, jumps on a loose ball to recover, and he pulls back his huge offensive linemen to try and make sure they don’t get into any disagreements. This kid rocks, it may be just my opinion, but he’s my quarterback baby! So hold my darn coffee, and bring on the Cleveland Browns! Woof!
