There was a palpable frustration among the New England Patriots on Sunday night. The team is in a historically challenging 0-2 hole after falling to the Miami Dolphins at home on “Sunday Night Football,” and there’s at least one clear common thread tying the losses together: bad starts.
No one seemed more determined to correct the issues plaguing the Patriots than linebacker Matthew Judon, who began his postgame press conference with a lengthy comment on the team and the state of their season. He projected confidence and did his best to stop certain questions before they were asked. He could see all those dark clouds approaching in the press room.
“Before we get into the questions, we’re going to confuse everybody, we’re going to talk from a place of praise, we’re going to talk from a place of gratitude,” Judon said. “We get to play this game. I know we lost, I know it looks bad, you start [0-2]. But this is not a bad team, so don’t get to asking those types of questions. We’re going to speak matter-of-fact. But I don’t think we’re about to hang our head up here, or in the locker room.
“So, when we come back on Monday and we watch this film, we’re going to get our corrections corrected. Then we come back on Wednesday, it’s not going to be ‘How are y’all going to pull it together?’ We already know how.”
FOXBOROUGH, MA: Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins runs the ball ahead of Matthew Judon of the New England Patriots during a game at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 17, 2023. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The “how” in question is as simple as starting games better. The Patriots have been outscored 19-0 in the first quarter through two games. Certainly not part of the recipe for winning.
Chief among the reasons for the bad starts have been turnovers. The offense is up to three first-quarter giveaways in two weeks, the latest of which got dynamic rookie wide receiver Demario Douglas benched on offense for the rest of the game.
The defense isn’t off the hook for Sunday night, though. They allowed 10 points on drives of 81 and 73 yards over Miami’s first two possessions. So, there was plenty of frustration to go around for the Patriots’ rocky starts to these games.
Here are the comments from Patriots players that stood out the most…
Mac Jones
FOXBOROUGH, MA: Mac Jones of the New England Patriots throws the ball during the first quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 17, 2023. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
“I think about past experience and my rookie year when we didn’t really start off too hot and then went on a really good winning streak. So, for me, that’s all I can do, is look back on experiences I’ve already had in my life and hopefully the guys on the team can respond. Definitely got to play better and learn from it and, you know, be here early and leave late and do it together. I think that’s the biggest thing.
“If a couple guys are doing it, it’s not good enough, clearly. So we’ve got to put more into it and get more out of it.”
Jones sounded like he was subtly calling out some of his teammates for not putting enough work in. It’s unclear who could be in that category. But Jones himself hasn’t been close to the biggest problem on the team through two games. He looks like he’s been putting the work in.
FOXBOROUGH, MA: Mac Jones of the New England Patriots reacts after officials overturned a spot to turn the ball over and end the game at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 17, 2023. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The problem with Jones is that he may lack the requisite talent to make up for a lack of it around him, or to elevate players who might not be working as hard as him behind the scenes. He’s not totally absolved, either, as each of his interceptions over the first two games of 2023 were obvious negative plays on his part.
But if part of the reason for the Patriots’ slow starts on offense is that not enough guys are putting in the hours needed to be where they want to be, then that has to change in a hurry. They don’t have enough talent to relax during the week. They’ll need to outwork other offenses in order to keep up, let alone outscore them.
Matthew Judon
FOXBOROUGH, MA: Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins is hit by Matthew Judon of the New England Patriots during the second half at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 17, 2023. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
“We just got to play how we play in the second half, from the first play. We got to get the crowd involved from the get-go. When we take the field, we got to have some type of energy, we got to have some type of juice. We can’t wait until we’re down 17, we can’t wait until we’re down 13, to try to make a comeback.
“It’s too hard in this league. People are too good. Schemes are too good. You don’t have enough time. So, you can’t play from behind. You can’t come out here and have slow starts. I think that’s what we’re doing, and we’ve got to get it corrected to have a faster start.”
When asked whether he knows the reason for the Patriots’ slow starts, Judon started with a quick “No.” But he expounded upon that, alluding to a team – if only on the defensive side of the ball – that doesn’t know who to turn to when someone needs to take charge of games.
FOXBOROUGH, MA: Matthew Judon of the New England Patriots celebrates with teammates after a defensive play against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 17, 2023. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
“Everybody’s waiting on somebody,” Judon said. “You can’t wait. You’ve got to prepare to be the best player on the field. You’ve got to make the play. Everybody has got to look inward and go out there and be motivated to make the play, to get the ball rolling.
“We can’t look to one another to do it. Everybody’s got to do their job, and everybody’s got to go out there and make a play.”
Perhaps this is a byproduct of the void left by the retired Devin McCourty. Defensive captains Ja’Whaun Bentley and Deatrich Wise are among those tasked with filling it. Judon, despite his vocal nature, has deferred to Bentley in the past and seems like more of a lead-by-example type. Whoever steps up, it sounds like someone on the defense needs to do it.
David Andrews
Sept. 17, 2023; Foxborough, MA: New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones reacts during the first half against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium. (Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports)
“We’ve just got to do a better job when it matters the most and stop playing from behind. It’s two weeks in a row playing from behind. It’s hard to play catchup in this league when you’re playing good teams, good defenses. It’s not how you want to play the game, playing from behind. It’s hard, very hard.”
Andrews was visibly and audibly frustrated, at least compared to his usually even-keeled, quietly confident self. The Patriots offensive line had a rough night across the board, Andrews included, which made it hard for anyone on offense to make plays or keep up with the Dolphins.
If this line ever gets everyone healthy and ready for full speed, they may gel into a solid unit. But Trent Brown had to miss the game due to a concussion, starting left guard Cole Strange didn’t look ready, and right guard Mike Onwenu was pulled later in the game as part of a plan to ease him back in.
The slow starts have been obvious within the games, but the team also couldn’t afford a slow start to the season. They’re already there, and the offensive line operation has been at the center of it.
Hunter Henry
Sept. 17, 2023; Foxborough, MA: New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry catches a pass during the first half against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium. (Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports)
“It’s very frustrating because you put a lot of work into this. This is the NFL, man. You play a lot of close games, you work and all that. There’s so many plays. Obviously, you look at the plays at the end of the game. Everybody likes to highlight those, and we need to be better at the end of the game for sure. But there’s so many other plays that we need to be better within the game to not put ourselves into that position.
So I think that’s something we’ve got to focus on, is a fast start. I mean, we’re moving the ball, but we’re killing ourselves with the turnovers, penalties, stalling on drives and just certain situations where we could get points.”
Henry basically echoed what Andrews said, but shared in Judon’s frustration. And Henry has been one of the best players on the team through two games, so he’s been pulling his weight. But there’s no lie in those comments.
JuJu Smith-Schuster
FOXBOROUGH, MA: JuJu Smith-Schuster of the New England Patriots is tackled by Kader Kohou and Andrew Van Ginkel of the Miami Dolphins during the fourth quarter at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 17, 2023. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
“It’s not concerning [the slow starts]. I think we have so much growth in this offense. As you can see, we can definitely move the ball down the field. We just have to be able to finish the drives.”
Smith-Schuster was one of the more confident presences in the locker room after the slow start and the loss. Smith-Schuster played 44 of 74 offensive snaps in the game (59.5 percent) and made five catches for 28 yards. Most of his production has come in the second half, just like most of the offense.
So confidence and a positive outlook are fine, but it’s going to have to translate to better results on the field at some point.
Jabrill Peppers
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – SEPTEMBER 17: Tyreek Hill #10 of the Miami Dolphins catches a pass against Marcus Jones #25 of the New England Patriots during the first half at Gillette Stadium on September 17, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
“[The Dolphins] are fast, but that wasn’t really what beat us tonight. We didn’t make them beat us tonight. We came out sluggish. We’ve got to do better across the board.”
Peppers has had a good start to the season, overall. But in talking to him, he reveals a lot of personal pride. He wasn’t satisfied after a decidedly strong effort by the defense in Week 1, so he’s certainly not going to be happy about how they performed on Sunday night.
Why the lack of “juice?”
FOXBOROUGH, MA: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots walks on the field prior to a game against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 17, 2023. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Judon’s comment about the Patriots needing to start games with “energy” and “juice” stuck out. And while it’s difficult, perhaps impossible, to pinpoint a reason for something as nebulous as a “slow start,” it’s easy to look at head coach Bill Belichick.
When a team looks unprepared for the start of a game, the logical person to question is the man helming the operation. And it’s extra-complicated for Belichick, who essentially handed himself his own middling roster.
One possible explanation for the Patriots’ lack of urgency at the start of games, and at the start of the season, is that it’s a reflection of Belichick’s own lack of urgency building the roster and preparing the team. The Patriots’ relatively low investment at tackle and wide receiver is already threatening to torpedo the season, while Belichick certainly has a massive hand in the preparation of the defense.
“Overall, I’d say this is a pretty hardworking group,” Belichick said Monday. “But, ultimately, in the end, we’ve all got to produce more. So, that’s really the focus. We’ll keep grinding away on that and be ready to correct some mistakes from yesterday and get ready for the Jets and go down there and be ready to play our best football.”
If Belichick isn’t going to up the urgency, it’ll be on the players to do so. Week 3 against the Jets has become a major test for the team to prove they can kick up the juice, across the board, top to bottom.
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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 @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.
