The New England Patriots 10 point loss to the Chiefs showed that the current roster construction, lacking offensive playmakers, is just too much to overcome at this moment. Even with a questionable call and TE involvement in the passing game, the New England Patriots never really looked like they would threaten the lead. The loss was relatively competitive, as fans of the ongoing tankathon received much welcomed news from Gillette and outside of the stadium.
New England Patriots Offensive Game Play
The New England Patriots did a nice job in the first half of keeping the game close. The offense showed some bright glimpses, but really struggled to sustain drives. The main bright spot was Hunter Henry, he was being targeted early and often but really served as the lone solid consistence on offense. He finished the game with seven receptions for 66 yards and a score, and could have had another one, were it not for an inopportune holding penalty.
Bailey Zappe did well early on with his decision making and not forcing the ball. However, he looked limited, he’s not a mobile scrambler that can create when a play breaks down, which was an issue playing behind an offensive line that had so many injuries. Zappe finished 23/31 for 180 yards. The lack of big plays made it so that the offense could only really score off of shorter fields. While chasing the game, he threw what ended up being something of a game sealing interception.
Against this Kansas City defense, the New England Patriots were unable to get a push up front and had a very limited running attack. In a game that needed the running game to carry the offense, it did not happen today. The running backs run 15 times for a total of 50 yards. A small positive was seeing Kevin Harris get in the scorers column for the first time this season.
New England Patriots Missed Opportunities On Defense
Of course the call of the day that everyone will be talking about is the holding penalty on what appeared to be an interception and a nice return by Jabrill Peppers. Alex Austin was called for the penalty on the play.
This seems like a very ticky tack foul call. There was contact, but Austin did not alter the path or impede the receiver from getting involved in the play. In a game that saw defenders get away with much more physical play, this seemed like a moment of the referees anticipating a call rather than watching a penalty actually be committed.
It was a call that seemed soft to give a free set of first downs for if it had just been an incompletion, let alone resulting in a turnover being taken back.
That being said, the defense needed to play above the level that they had been playing at all year if the New England Patriots were going to win. While they did a good job of limiting Travis Kelce, the Chiefs out gained the New England Patriots by over 100 yards and deserved to win the game.
New England Patriots Current Draft Position
Despite the hopes of a home upset quickly being put to rest, some good news emerged. The Carolina Panthers beat the Flacons 9-6, adding a substantial win in the watch for the race toward the bottom.
With the #Patriots loss to Kansas City and the #Panthers win against Atlanta, New England is now one game back from the #1 overall pick.
I’d keep an eye on Arizona’s game later today. pic.twitter.com/5nGKlluEbG
— Carlos (@LosTalksPats) December 17, 2023
With winnable games coming up for the current top three picking teams, and a realistic possibility of all teams losing out, it truly is anyone’s guess who will be drafting first in 2024.