The New England Patriots hosted the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday for a Week 17 matchup at Gillette Stadium, and Jerod Mayo’s team was handed a 40-7 loss, their sixth in a row.
New England was horrible in nearly every aspect of this game.
Their offense was hard to watch, as rookie quarterback Drake Maye completed 54.5% of his passes for just 117 yards and a lone touchdown on a 36-yard pass to DeMario Douglas.
Maye missed a drive in the first quarter due to a hit to the helmet, and Jacoby Brissett attempted just one pass and went four-and-out. Brissett came into the game after it got out of hand in the fourth quarter.
The Patriots also didn’t run the ball well, as Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 64 yards on 4.6 yards per attempt. However, Gibson did most of that damage in garbage time.
Their biggest failure on that side of the ball could be seen on third and fourth downs. The offense converted just two of their 13 attempts on those downs.
New England’s defense was also horrendous, as they allowed Justin Herbert to complete 68.4% of his passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns. They failed to put pressure on him for most of the game and most of his incompletions were errant passes.
The trio of J.K. Dobbins, Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal rushed for 130 yards on 4.1 yards per attempt, and Dobbins also found the end zone on a two-yard run in the fourth quarter.
New England also lost their best defensive player, cornerback Christian Gonzalez, to a concussion early in the game, and Jonathan Jones wasn’t able to step up and shut down Ladd McConkey, who the Patriots could’ve drafted this year. The rookie caught eight passes for 94 yards and two scores.
The loss dropped the Patriots to 3-13 on the season, and they’ll host the Buffalo Bills for their 2024 season finale next week.
MORE PATRIOTS NEWS
Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez enters concussion protocol
Pair of former Patriots named finalists for 2025 Hall of Fame class
Patriots second-round pick wants changes in New England
Patriots urged to sign Super Bowl champion defender
