Bill Belichick addresses key fourth-quarter decisions in Patriots’ loss to Eagles
Bill Belichick said after the New England Patriots’ Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that his team was good enough to “make it competitive,” but not good enough to actually win. He put himself on that same list, and justifiably so.
Belichick was asked multiple times about various decisions he made late in Sunday’s 25-20 loss at Gillette Stadium, during both his postgame presser and his follow-up media availability Monday morning. Chief among the curious choices was to go for it on fourth-and-3 from the Eagles’ 17-yard line with 9:39 left in the fourth quarter, down 22-14. Mac Jones’ pass attempt toward Ezekiel Elliott fell incomplete, leaving a rallying Patriots offense empty-handed.
When asked after the game whether he wished he’d tried more field goals, Belichick played all the hits.
“Made the best decision we could at the time,” Belichick said. “Didn’t know we would be down there multiple times. Six minutes to go in the game. I don’t know. If we had kicked it, I’m sure you would be asking why didn’t we go for it.”
He felt he made the best decision for the team. He manipulated a key number (again, there was actually 9:39 left). He blamed the reporter for asking a pretty standard question. Classic Bill. The kind of stuff that was more amusing when the Patriots won more.
Another key decision was to go for it on fourth-and-17 from the Eagles’ 48-yard line with 2:24 left, now down 25-20. Since they were almost at midfield, deciding to punt was in play. This would’ve been more risky than passing up the field goal, but the Patriots defense ended up getting their stop, anyway.
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 10: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots walks onto the field after their 25-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
“Yeah, well, I mean look, there wasn’t a lot of field position to be gained,” Belichick said Monday. “We could have punted it – probably should have punted on fourth-and-17, but we’re on their side of the 50. It’s too long for a field goal. Fourth-and-17 is a lot tougher than fourth-and-12.”
A third decision was a little more nebulous, as to where the buck stopped and why it went the way it did. But it came on the Patriots’ final fourth-down attempt of the game, when Jones’ pass attempt to rookie wide receiver Kayshon Boutte was ruled incomplete on review. Boutte failed to get both feet in bounds for the second time in the game, a clear teaching point for him going forward.
But why was Boutte, a rookie sixth-round pick, the one entrusted to make such a crucial play in his first career game? Why was Boutte on the field in the first place? Why was veteran big-money free-agent addition JuJu Smith-Schuster NOT on the field? Was it due to a lack of trust? Or could it be something physical?
“Yeah, again we had different groups, different rotations, so we’re good with whoever is in there,” Belichick said after the game, when asked about the receiver package on the field during their final offensive drive. They lined up in “11” personnel (three receivers) with Boutte, fellow rookie Demario Douglas, and Kendrick Bourne, with Smith-Schuster on the sidelines.
Boutte played 55 snaps in the game (69 percent), compared to 43 for Smith-Schuster (54 percent). No matter the reason for Smith-Schuster’s low workload, it’s a concern that he couldn’t get on the field as much as a rookie who couldn’t get both his feet down in bounds. They also opted for Douglas in the slot over him, to make a direct comparison.
Still more important to note, however, was Belichick’s decision-making on fourth down. His feel for kicking field goals versus punting versus going for it seemed off. It’s easy to say in retrospect, but the decisions were eyebrow-raisers in real-time, too.
It’s why Belichick gave in and put himself on the list of people who need to be better. He will have to be, if the Patriots are going to push themselves from merely being “competitive” to “winning.”
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A Rorschach test in Week 1: 6 takeaways from the Patriots' season-opening loss to the Eagles
Night and day on offense
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 10: Bailey Zappe #4 of the New England Patriots watches offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien of the New England Patriots talks to Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
One thing you can’t blame the Patriots’ offensive shortcomings on from Sunday night? The offensive system.
Fully unveiled for the first time, Bill O’Brien’s new offense was a complete departure from what the Patriots ran in 2022 under Matt Patricia. It featured a wide variety of formations and personnel groupings. Things changed dramatically play-to-play, and drive to drive.
There were plenty of in-game adjustments from the Patriots offense. That included deemphasizing the run when the Eagles had things shut down early. O’Brien wasn’t afraid to put the game on Mac Jones’ shoulders, which resulted in Jones throwing a career-high 54 passes.
Without a true coverage-dictating weapon on offense, the Patriots’ strength lies in their depth and versatility. O’Brien appears ready to take full advantage of that.
In terms of the depth, all nine skill players had at least three targets in the passing game. Players were used in roles that fit their strengths, or were otherwise schemed open through route combinations.
On top of getting every active still player involved, the more versatile players were involved in multiple roles. Ty Montgomery played both wide receiver and running back, stressing the Eagles’ defensive formations pre-snap. Both tight ends Mike Gesicki and Pharaoh Brown were used from wide alignments, and there was even a fullback snap (and carry!) for Ezekiel Elliott. Marcus Jones logged some offensive snaps as well. Because of all of this shuffling the Eagles regularly had to adjust on the fly, which resulted to them being caught off guard on multiple occasions.
Don’t think this is the final form of O’Brien’s offense either. He should continue to make tweaks both as players become more comfortable in the system, and to stay ahead of other teams now that he’s put plays on tape. But from Week 1, the Patriots’ offense already appears to be well ahead of where it was even late last year.
Patchwork offensive line yields mixed results
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 10: David Andrews #60 of the New England Patriots looks on during the third quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
There was certainly some concern before the game when the Patriots announced both starting guards – Cole Strange and Mike Onwenu – would be out for this game. That left the Patriots with just four healthy interior offensive linemen, with rookies Atonio Mafi, Sidy Sow, and Jake Andrews joining veteran center and team captain David Andrews. Given the team’s already-noted shortcomings at tackle, this seemed like a major problem. This was on top of Calvin Anderson starting at right tackle after missing the entire summer due to illness.
In the end, the five up front ended up being…fine. It certainly wasn’t as bad of a performance as expected, but at the same time there were significant limitations.
While pass protection was the biggest issue for the Patriots’ limited offensive line this summer, that’s where the group was better on Sunday. Facing a defensive front that posted 70 sacks last year – the third-most in NFL history and the most by any team since 2006 – Mac Jones was hit just seven times over the course of the game and wasn’t sacked until late in the fourth quarter (twice total). That in itself may have been the biggest surprise of the game.
However, the line also forced Bill O’Brien to call plays with one hand tied behind his back. The Patriots struggled to get any movement in the run game early, and seemingly as a result went away from the ground game all together. For the game, the Patriots ended up running the ball just 22 times (including two Jones scrambles), while Jones threw the ball 54 times.
In the end, the Patriots averaged just 3.5 yards per carry on the ground, a number that drops to 3.1 yards per carry when taking out those Jones scrambles. It wasn’t a surprising outcome given the circumstances, but one that factored heavily into the result none the less.
There were also some surprises in terms of what we didn’t see. In the past the Patriots haven’t been afraid of rotating offensive linemen in the season opener, but they didn’t do that in this game. Perhaps part of the season is recent trade acquisitions Vederian Lowe and Tyrone Wheatley weren’t ready for game action, but it could also be that the group worked well together. The team never even went to a six-OL, tackle-eligible package against the Eagles’ great defensive line.
Late-down decision-making
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 10: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots looks on during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
With this being a close game, late-game decision making is of course in focus. The most curious moments were some late-down (3rd and 4th downs) offensive play calls in the fourth quarter. Let’s take a look at each one.
We’ll start with 10:13 to go in the fourth quarter, and the Patriots down 22-14. On a 3rd & 3 from the Eagles’ 17-yard line, the Patriots elected to run Ezekiel Elliott up the middle out of the shotgun despite their issues running the football during the game. He was stopped for no gain. Instead of taking the points, Bill Belichick elected to go for it on fourth down. Mac Jones ended up pressured, and threw an incomplete pass.
It would have been easy for the Patriots to take the field goal in that situation. Either way they would need another defensive stop, and this way if they scored an ensuing touchdown it wouldn’t come with the need for a two-point conversion. With the time left, there were still more drives in play for the Patriots.
Asked about this choice after the game, Belichick sounded confident in his pick. “Made the best decision we could at the time,” he said. “If we had kicked it, I’m sure you would be asking why didn’t we go for it.”
It was the latter fourth down decision that was the real head scratcher – especially given what preceded it. The Patriots got the ball back in Philly territory down 25-20 after a Jabrill Peppers forced fumble. Everything seemed in line for a short game-winning drive.
But with 2:59 to go and the ball at the Philly 36, Jones was sacked on a second down setting up a 3rd & 12. A drop by Kendrick Bourne led to 4th & 12, which the Patriots lined up to go for. They never got the snap off though, with an untimely delay of game penalty set them back to the Philly 48 – seven yards behind where they got the ball after the fumble. Despite facing a 4th & 17 Belichick still chose to put faith in his offense. The try was unsuccessful, and on the ensuing Eagles drive the Patriots were forced to burn all three timeouts, essentially putting the end to the comeback effort.
That decision should be the bigger head-scratcher of the two. With the defense playing well Belichick had a chance to punt and pin the Eagles deep rather than attempt to move nearly a fifth of the field in one play. With all three timeouts, if the Patriots got the stop, they would have gotten the ball back with the same amount of time left and in more favorable field position.
There was a final fourth down the Patriots faced in the final minute of the game – the 4th & 11 with the out throw to Kayshon Boutte where he failed to get his foot in bounds. At that point the Patriots had no choice but to go for it – but they made things hard on themselves with the third down call. On 3rd & 13 they went with a screen to Rhamondre Stevenson rather than push the ball downfield. The screen yielded no yards.
For a team that has leaned more conservative when it comes to fourth down play calls in recent years, Sunday was a noticeable departure. The Patriots didn’t attempt an single field goal in the entire game. Was this just a single-game reaction due to the level of opponent the Patriots were facing, or a sign of things to come?
Rush plan versus Jalen Hurts
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 10: Matthew Judon #9 of the New England Patriots fails to tackle Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles during the third quarter at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
The Patriots came in with a plan to handle Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, and executed it at a high level. In the end, the reigning runner-up MVP finished 22-of-33 for 170 yards and a touchdown through the air, and with nine carries for 37 yards on the ground.
What the Patriots did to frustrate Hurts was take advantage of his weakness when it comes to throwing on the run. They aggressively pushed the pocket and flushed him to the outside. Once he got outside, the Patriots had a spy waiting so he couldn’t take off and run. They were able to build on that by forcing Hurts out in specific directions, essentially cutting the field in half for the spy.
This all sounds simple, but it’s much harder to execute in practice. However the Patriots were able to pull it off, in a promising effort for a team that had a number of mobile quarterbacks coming up on its schedule.
Rookie performances
Sep 10, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez (6) lines up on Philadelphia Eagles safety Sydney Brown (21) during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
There were rookies all over the field for the Patriots in this game. 11 of the Patriots’ 12 draft picks were active on Sunday, with the lone exception being Isaiah Bolden, who is on IR.
Starting at the top of the draft class, cornerback Christian Gonzalez had a real ‘welcome to the NFL’ assignment opposite All-Pro receiver A.J. Brown. Gonzalez held his own, and while he did give up some completions underneath didn’t allow one of the NFL’s best home run hitters to beat him deep. He also recorded his first career sack on a cornerback blitz.
Keion White picked up where he left off in the summer as one of the team’s most important rookies. He had four pressures in the first half alone, and was a big part of the Patriots’ rush plan against Jalen Hurts detailed above. For third-round pick Marte Mapu, his training camp usage translated as he saw time at both linebacker and safety.
On offense, Demario Douglas had a few big moments after missing the second half of camp due to injury. He caught four passes for 40 yards in his debut. Meanwhile, the two rookie guards played better than expected.
Really, the only Patriots rookie that came up short of expectations what Kayshon Boutte. He failed to get a second foot in not once, but twice on what would have been key completions in the second half.
Marcus Jones taking chances
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 10: Sydney Brown #21 of the Philadelphia Eagles tackles Marcus Jones #25 of the New England Patriots as Jones fields a punt during the first quarter at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
On special teams, punt returner Marucs Jones returned three punts for 21 yards, including a 14-yarder. However, he had some close calls on balls he didn’t fair catch or called for a fair catch late, with the coverage team right on top of him. Look for him to be a bit more careful in the coming weeks, as talented gunners can and will look to arrive simultaneously with the ball, forcing a muffed punt.
