The Patriots’ offensive line struggled to protect quarterback Mac Jones in Week 1 against the Dolphins. In Week 2 against the Jets, they graduated from “problem” to “mixed bag.”
In all, we charted the Jets for nine total pressures against Jones in Week 2, compared to 16 against the Dolphins in Week 1. Both tackle spots remain an issue, particularly on the right side, where fill-ins Yasir Durant and Justin Herron have been a massive downgrade from what Trent Brown likely would’ve brought to the line. Durant was obviously the most glaring, as all three Jets sacks were attributed to him.
Only center David Andrews escaped the game without allowing pressure. Here are the total pass protection stats for all six offensive linemen:
Isaiah Wynn: 3 hurries
Mike Onwenu: 1 hurry
David Andrews: Clean
Shaq Mason: 1 hurry
Yasir Durant: 3 sacks
Justin Herron: 1 hurry
The silver lining is that, on the interior, the Patriots have mostly cleaned things up. The Jets had five combined sacks and hits on Jones, compared to nine hits by the Dolphins pass rush.
Wynn’s struggles, however, have relatively flown under the radar amid chaos at right tackle. In addition to allowing three total pressures, Wynn also committed two penalties, a false start and a hold.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – SEPTEMBER 19: Quarterback Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots passes the ball against the New York Jets in the first quarter of the game at MetLife Stadium on September 19, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Head coach Bill Belichick didn’t sound particularly concerned about the team’s struggles at right tackle, which have forced the team to adjust on the fly since Brown had to leave the season opener in the first quarter with a calf injury. Durant and Herron have essentially split snaps, while third-year tackle Yodny Cajuste was active for the first time of the season on Sunday but has yet to play a snap.
“We still need to spend a little more time here going through the film and talk about things, but I think we’re alright here,” Belichick said. “Got three players that have played [right tackle], and I think they’ve all done some good things. Trent [Brown], I mean not very much in the last two games, but you know, we know Trent can do a good job over there, and Yasir [Durant] and Justin [Herron] have both done a solid job there. We’ve had some breakdowns at really all spots on the line, all spots offensively. It’s just we’ve lacked some consistency.
“Even though we have a lot of good plays, and we’ve moved the ball, and we’ve put ourselves into positive field position a lot of times this year, we just don’t have enough results points-wise that what we feel like we should have, but I think that’s really a whole team thing. Not any one individual, one guy. We planned to play Justin and Yasir both yesterday, and we did, and they both got some good experience, and they both had a lot of good plays, so we’ll see where we are this week and go from there.”
When pass protection broke down against the Jets, the issue was more often with schemed pressure like stunts than 1-on-1 losses. So the preparation and communication is likely at the top of the list of things for the O-line to improve.
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Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @mattydsays. You can also email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.