Now, it may not be all sunshine and rainbows yet for the New England Patriots, but with a win against the Arizona Cardinals they move back into a wild card spot for the playoffs.
It’s no secret, even if you didn’t watch the game, that the defense is the strength of the Patriots at present, and the game against the Cardinals was definitely an example of that.
Arizona may have really hurt themselves with the amount of penalties they pulled, particularly the offense, but the Patriots didn’t have their card unmarked either.
Whilst Cole Strange had a better game with David Andrews playing, it was still a little shaky on the offensive line overall. But, I do want to add, Mac looked a little better in the pocket, and I think the protection was better than it has been, but it wouldn’t hurt if it were to improve more… and more.
For a ‘leaning on the run’ offense, the ankle injury to Rhamondre Stevenson was extremely concerning, but Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong did suddenly take hold of their moments to shine, with each of the rookies putting a touchdown on the board.
Nelson Agholor persists on making it difficult to root for him as his ball security continues to be not great. Mid second quarter Mac threw a good ball to Agholor, and he caught it, but then the next play was another good throw and he dropped it. The end of the third quarter saw Agholor fumble for a return by the Cardinals for a touchdown, fortunately it turned out to be an incomplete pass, no touchdown given, and was followed by a great diving catch by Kendrick Bourne.
There was a Hunter Henry catch. Not just one… three! And yes, whilst that is really slim pickings, the one at the end of the second quarter can only be described as… SEXY!
Unfortunately, that was followed by a bad hand off to Kevin Harris, and the Patriots went into half time 3 points down.
Credit to the offense, there were some explosive plays but it just still looks like a defensive guy is running the offense…
But the night really did go to the defense, and particularly Marcus Jones playing all areas, offense, defense and special teams.
Jahlani Tavai continued to prove some of the nay sayers wrong, with good eyes on runners for the take down, as well as a tipped ball. Matthew Judon notched up another sack (technically one and a half) for his stat sheet, although he did spend a lot of the game double teamed. But how can we be surprised!?
Josh Uche is growing into a very dynamic player for this Patriots defense, and his stat sheet recorded 4 tackles, 1 assist and 3 sacks, whilst Daniel Ekuale racked up several tackles, as well as a sack!
And so there you have it you lovely lot, week 14 is in the bag and whilst things aren’t exactly smelling like roses for the Patriots offense, there is still hope!
