Scott Zolak: Ja’Whaun Bentley is a big loss for the Patriots

On Tuesday's edition of Zolak & Bertrand, Scott Zolak explained why Ja'Whuan Bentley is such a big loss for the Patriots defense.

Marc Bertrand: 

Ja’Whaun Bentley is done for the year guys. 

Scott Zolak: 

That's pretty bad.  

Marc Bertrand: 

That's a problem.  

Scott Zolak: 

I thought looking at him and talking to him throughout the preseason, we got him for a couple production meetings, it felt to me like he changed his body style. You've been around the league for a while and you know he's been injured before, but he took care of his body in the offseason, cut himself up. Dropped the fat, increased the muscle, and he looked quicker than me in preseason. Then he looked quicker to me in Cincinnati and I'm like holy cow. Bentley to me was sort of that just picking an A gap or B gap, run blitz him and that's all he's really good for. He's a really good run stuffer, but running lateral, he had issues and he was able to move sideline to sideline throughout the course of that first game of preseason. And I'm like, holy cow, being a captain, being older, understanding how to take care of yourself and become an even more down player, being a first down, second down, maybe third down player, that you don't have to take off the field.  

With the addition of Sione Takitaki, which we'll see here really at some point and Jahlani Tavai with the way he sort of transitioned his game, the athletic linebackers were going to be the better part of the front with Christian Barmore being out. Obviously, with Christian Barmore being in, you know, your front line is the heavy part of that front 7. And I thought with the transition of Tavai and Bentley's ability now to not come off the field, the linebackers were going to be the strength and now you're going to take a hit because Raekwon McMillan steps in and maybe they move Tavai inside and put McMillan on the outside.

The New England Patriots are 1-1 on the 2024 season after a 23-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Here are eight players who stood out in the game, based on their performance on the field...

The Patriots wasted the best game of Henry's career. The veteran tight end caught 8-of-12 targets for a career-high 109 yards, including a 35-yard catch-and-run from Jacoby Brissett.

If the Patriots want to impact the game through the air, they're going to need a meaningful contribution from Henry every single week. He showed on Sunday how much better the offense can look just by getting the ball in his hands.

Hooper isn't here because of his work on offense, although he was only targeted once for five yards. He's the first "DOWN" because the Seahawks' Julian Love blew by him to block a field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter.

The three points would've given the Patriots a 23-17 lead in the closing minutes, and possibly helped them close out a win. That was the Patriots' first major special teams miscue of the season, and it really cost them. Something to clean up for next week.

The Patriots offense let Gibson down in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. The veteran running back should have delivered a kill shot of sorts when he broke multiple tackles en route to a 45-yard run that put the Pats well into Seattle territory. Instead, the offense went backward from there and the Seahawks clawed their way back into the game.

But, Gibson is off the hook for this game. He's running hard and making dynamic plays with the ball in his hands.

Gonzalez covered D.K. Metcalf for most of the game, and in 1-on-1 matchups he allowed three catches for 24 yards on seven targets. But he and Kyle Dugger had what he described as a "miscommunication" when Metcalf blew right through both of them and streaked wide open down the field, as he hauled in an easy 56-yard touchdown catch from Smith.

Dugger took responsibility for checking into a bad play, but Gonzalez was the one covering Metcalf most of the time, so it's hard to let the second-year corner off the hook. He can't give up any plays that big if the Patriots want to win games this season.

Another strong game for White, who put the loss on his own shoulders after the game in a sign of maturity and leadership. But White was again disruptive up front, finishing with 1.5 sacks, two QB hits, and seven tackles. The Patriots' problem up front isn't White, but that they seem to lack impactful secondary pass-rushers aside from him.

Pressure off the left edge was a problem all afternoon for the Patriots, and quarterback Jacoby Brissett mostly did a good-enough job to mitigate the damage. That was until he took a 9-yard sack in the fourth quarter on the play before the blocked field goal try. Lowe wasn't the only player that allowed pressure on that play, but he was the most consistently troublesome offensive lineman out there.

Baringer is off to a great start this season, one of the few Patriots to string together two strong performances. He averaged 57 yards per punt, with a long of 67, three pinned inside the 20-yard line, and only one touchback in six tries.

Wilson got flagged for defensive pass interference for the second straight game, mugging the Seahawks' Tyler Lockett in the end zone on third-and-6, gifting Seattle first-and-goal from the 1-yard line and an easy touchdown run on the next play. One could argue that the pass attempt was not catchable, and therefore not a worthy penalty, but all Wilson needed to do was look back for the ball, and he didn't do it. Don't give the officials a reason to throw the flag.

We didn't see much of Wilson for the rest of the game. The Patriots may have to consider a new depth chart at cornerback.