The New England Patriots’ 2023 season came to a fitting end on Sunday, with a 17-3 loss to the New York Jets. With that, we can now take a step back and – before moving onto a very crucial offseason – take a look back at the big picture that was the Patriots’ 2023 season.
“It was obviously a very disappointing season all the way around. Players, coaches, staff, organization, everybody is not anywhere close to what our standard and expectations are,” Bill Belichick said in his end of year press conference on Monday morning.
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Those coaching issues are reflected in our annual end of year position-by-position grades on offense (you can find the defensive grades here). This is my fourth year doing this sort of evaluation at the end of the season, which follows up the same exercise mid-season. Generally, there’s some movement between the grades from the midway point to the end of the year – this year, four of the five grades stayed the same on offense (you can see the midseason grades here).
That reflects, in part, the lack of adjustments made by the 2023 Patriots. Even with a quarterback change, the approach on the offensive side of the ball remained mostly the same throughout the season.
In the end the Patriots ended up with the 31st ranked offense in the league. Their 13.9 points per game were a new low for the Belichick era. They also ranked 30th in yards, 32nd in total plays run, 31st in 3rd down percentage, and 31st in three-and-outs.
What went wrong in each spot? Let’s take a look. Keep in mind we’re grading on a curve compared to preseason expectations, with more weight put on the more recent performances.
Quarterbacks: D-
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 10: Bailey Zappe #4 of the New England Patriots looks on next to Mac Jones #10 before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Some of you may be wondering how the quarterbacks escaped a failing grade. Fair question.
The bar for an ‘F’ is high (or low, depending on how you look at it). In four years doing this I’ve only ever given out one ‘F’ which went to the 2020 tight ends. A year after drafting Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene in the top 101, the group – those two plus Ryan Izzo – combined for 18 catches for 254 yards and one touchdown, which came in the regular season finale.
What the Patriots’ quarterback play that bad? Not quite. Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe each had their one moment. Jones led a late game-winning drive against the Buffalo Bills in Week 7, and Bailey Zappe had his three-touchdown first half against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14.
However, that was it. Jones couldn’t keep his grip on the starting job, and once Zappe took over things didn’t look much different. The two combined to throw 16 touchdowns and 21 interceptions while throwing for 199 yards per game.
Coming into this season, the Patriots needed an answer on whether or not they had their long-term plan at quarterback in-house. They got their answer – it just wasn’t the one most probably wanted.
Midseason grade: D-
Running backs: B-
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – DECEMBER 03: Rhamondre Stevenson #38 of the New England Patriots runs with the ball in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium on December 03, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images)
After a slow start to the season for the Patriots’ running backs, they got going late in the year. In Rhamondre Stevenson’s final three games before getting hurt he looked like he did in his 2022 breakout year. Over those three games he averaged 5.4 yards per touch and 112.6 yards per game, and they were three of only four games this year where a Patriots player had over 100 yards from scrimmage.
That fourth game belonged to Ezekiel Elliott, who had a team-high 140 total yards in the win against the Steelers. Elliott proved throughout the year he can still be a contributing player as he enters his ninth year in the league.
The early season struggles from the running back position certainly didn’t help, but the duo got going late in the year. That’s especially impressive since the Patriots asked so much of each guy, not really using a third back throughout the year. Elliott’s 235 touches were the ninth-most by a Patriots player in a season in the Bill Belichick era, while Stevenson’s 194 rank 20th, even though he played just 12 games (Stevenson was on pace for 274 touches, which would have ranked seventh).
Midseason grade: C
Wide receivers: D
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 15: DeVante Parker #1 of the New England Patriots drops a pass while defended by Marcus Epps #1 of the Las Vegas Raiders during the fourth quarter at Allegiant Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)
Based on the Patriots’ moves this offseason – the addition of Bill O’Brien and money spent on JuJu Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker – the expectation there would be more production from the Patriots’ wide receivers last year. If anything, there was less.
The Patriots’ leading wide receiver in 2023 – and lone bright spot at the position – was rookie DeMario Douglas. He had, statistically, one of the best seasons by a rookie wideout under Bill Belichick catches 49 passes for 561 yards in 14 games. Whatever the revamped Patriots’ offense looks like in 2024, Douglas proved he should be a part of the plan.
Douglas’ season is where positives end though. The next-closest receiver in terms of production is Kendrick Bourne, who caught 37 passes for 406 yards and four touchdowns in just eight games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Again, Bourne made a case to return to the Patriots next year, maybe in more of a ‘prove-it’ role given he’ll be working his way back from a torn ACL.
So far we’ve touched on a rookie sixth-round pick and a player the Patriots mostly benched in 2022. As for the receivers the Patriots’ truly invested in?
Parker, after signing a contract extension in the spring, had nearly the same numbers as Bourne despite playing in five additional games. His 13-game production saw him catch 33 passes for 394 yards without a touchdown. On top of that Parker led all receivers with three drops, and a number of apparent route-running miscues or lazy routes led to turnovers on balls thrown in his direction.
Things weren’t much different for Smith-Schuster, who struggled to find any consistency as he battled a knee injury starting in the spring (it cost him all of OTAs and Minicamp). He ended up playing in 11 games, catching 29 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown. His production was dwarfed by the player he was brought in to replace, Jakobi Meyers (16 games, 807, yards, 8 TDs). Meyers’ had nearly double the first downs on the year (46) than Smith-Schuster had outright catches.
2022 second-round pick Tyquan Thornton also failed to take the Year 2 leap. Dealing with various injuries throughout the year Thornton caught 13 passes for 91 yards. His status moving forward will be an interesting question this offseason – there’s no guaranteed money on his contract or next year.
Issues at the quarterback position certainly didn’t help the wide receiver room, but it’s possible and been done elsewhere for good receivers to still manage to make an impact with bad quarterback play. That wasn’t the case in New England.
Ultimately, the Patriots found no answers at wide receiver this year as talent at the position continues to elude them. Navigating building the room back up around the new contracts they signed last year will be one of the tougher tasks ahead of them.
Midseason grade: D
Tight ends: C+
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – DECEMBER 17: Mike Gesicki #88 and Hunter Henry #85 of the New England Patriots celebrate after Henry’s receiving touchdown during the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Hunter Henry remained a reliable target for both Patriots quarterbacks until a mid-December knee injury ended his season early. Both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe looked his way often, and his 61 targets ranked third on the team behind DeMario Douglas and Ezekiel Elliott. For most of the season, Henry appeared to be playing through injury.
Henry certainly made a case for the Patriots to bring him back next year (he’s a pending free agent). Whether or not he’ll want to return is another question but in an offense that’s likely to undergo a lot of change, having him as a veteran presence in a young group (especially if there’s a young quarterback) would be valuable on and off the field.
Mike Gesicki failed to reach the TE2 production expected when the Patriots signed him back in the spring, catching just 29 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. Part of the problem seemed to be the Patriots could play to Gesicki’s strengths.
Gesicki’s lack of ability as a blocker combined with the weak offensive line saw the Patriots turn more to 6-foot-4, 246-pound Pharoah Brown as the second tight end to help out up front. Gesicki’s red zone skills flashed at times but weren’t something the Patriots could take advantage of consistently considering how little they were in the red zone (the Patriots ran 130 plays in the red zone this year, which ranked dead last in the NFL).
Midseason grade: C+
Offensive line: D-
Sep 10, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown (77) in action during the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium. Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
There’s an argument to be made that the Patriots’ offensive line was doomed from the start in 2023. Yes the group was beset by injuries, but there should be some contingency plans in place for that, especially at such a physical position. Instead it felt like the Patriots were shorthanded up front from the start, both in terms of top-end talent and depth.
That was especially true at tackle, where the Patriots had to run through multiple options before even getting out of training camp. Neither of their top free agency signings worked out at right tackle. Riley Reiff had to move inside to guard (before missing most of the season due to multiple injuries), and Calvin Anderson was sidelined with an illness. Last year’s starter Conor McDermott missed most of camp due to injury only to be released on an injury settlement before being released a few weeks later. Rookie Sidy Sow, who almost exclusively guard in college, got a shot but didn’t stick.
That left the Patriots turning to post-cutdown trade acquisition Vederian Lowe, who was quickly benched. That move led to one of the few bright spots for the Patriots on the offensive line, with Mike Onwenu moving out from right guard to right tackle. Onwenu showed promise there, which the team should take note of with his expiring contract. It also opened up a chance for Sow to play his natural position, where he showed some promise.
At the other tackle spot, Trent Brown played well for the first month and a half of the season. Then, injuries became a real issue and Brown also seemed to disengage. He spoke critically of the team in the media multiple times late in the year, and ended up being inactive for three of the final four games.
Second-year left guard Cole Strange showed some flashes but injuries were a problem throughout the season. He missed almost all of training camp, then was only a part-time player the first few weeks of the season. That left the Patriots turning to another rookie, Atonio Mafi.
If there was one constant for the Patriots’ offensive line this year, it was center David Andrews. Andrews, the 31-year-old eight-year NFL veteran played every single snap for the Patriots’ offense, becoming the first player to do so since Joe Thuney in 2018.
The Patriots will have some serious rebuilding to do on their offensive line this offseason, mainly at tackle. This year’s plan of patchworking a line by taking fliers on players who weren’t full-time starters in the past broke down before it could ever really get started, and the approach should be adjusted to reflect that next year.
Midseason grade: D-
