Despite Two Key Defensive Losses, Patriots Must Do Their Job

The New England Patriots defense looked inept against the Miami Dolphins. It marked the second straight week of the unit being a no-show. After the game, multiple members of the Patriots defense mentioned the same word when asked about the issue. The word of choice was not coaching, preparation, or talent. It was communication.

Those in the locker room are responsible for getting things turned around. However, ignoring two key absences that contributed to the communication issues is unnecessary. Linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley and safety Jabrill Peppers were voted Patriots captains for 2024. Both players lead by example but are also extremely vocal players. Having a player like that on the field is like having a coach in the defensive huddle. New England had two such players. Neither has played for the Patriots since Week 4.

The Patriots played against the Rams and Dolphins over the past two games. The quarterbacks for those teams are productive veterans Matthew Stafford and Tua Tagovailoa, respectively. Stafford completed 18 of 27 passes for 295 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions against New England. Tagovailoa followed that effort by completing 29 of 40 for 317 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Also Read – Ten Takeaways From the Patriots 34-15 Loss in Miami

In two weeks, Stafford and Tagovailoa combined to complete 47 of 67 passes (70.1%) for 612 yards, eight touchdowns, and no interceptions. That is great for those offenses. It is abysmal for the New England Patriots defense.

Communication Issues

After the loss to Miami, the postgame comments included the word “communication” multiple times. Cornerback Marcus Jones said New England was not surprised by what they saw on the field. The defense had seen it on film and was expecting exactly what they got. However, the Patriots still failed to stop it. Why?

“It’s one of those situations to where we got to know what’s going on and just communicate,” said Jones of the Patriots pass defense. “Communication helps with everything. So, if we communicate we should be able to handle it.”

Based on Tagovailoa’s impressive stat line, New England experienced a failure to communicate.

“We just weren’t communicating the right way,” said safety Kyle Dugger of New England’s coverage issues. “And it’s basically just beating ourselves. It doesn’t really have anything to do with them.”

Dugger is accurate in one regard. Several Patriots coverage mixups (miscommunications) over their last two games have opened the door for plays that any offense in the league could score on. It needs to stop.

Achane has another TD!

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Missing the Captains

Bentley follows in a long line of New England Patriots who run the defense on the field. Over the past 25 years, that group has consisted of Tedy Bruschi, Jerod Mayo, Dont’a Hightower, and Ja’Whaun Bentley. Three of those men are on New England’s sideline this season, but none are on the field. Bentley suffered a torn pec in Week 2 and is out for the season. Bentley wore the green dot to get plays from the sideline and relay them to the defense. His intelligence, enthusiasm, and communication skills have been missed even more than his tackling skills.

Many have avoided discussing Jabrill Peppers since he became unavailable to the Patriots after Week 4. Peppers faces charges of strangulation, assault and battery, assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and possession of a Class B substance believed to be cocaine. The NFL placed Peppers on the Commissioner’s Exempt List pending an investigation into the case against him. If Peppers is found responsible for what he’s accused of, he will not play for the Patriots again, and his NFL future will be in doubt.

The legal issues surrounding Peppers far outweigh anything related to his football career. But even if the safety deserves to be sidelined pending the investigation and deserves to be gone if found responsible for a domestic violence situation, his absence on the football field is still significant to New England. To acknowledge as much is fair. He was arguably the Patriots’ best player in 2023. Like Bentley, he’s a vocal and excitable leader. When Bentley got injured, Peppers received the green dot to run the defensive huddle. Two weeks later, he was gone too.

Who Will Step Up?

Deatrich Wise Jr. is the one defensive team captain still available to play. However, Wise missed the past two games himself with a foot injury. More importantly for this discussion, Wise plays defensive end. The players who are most responsible for the defensive communication are the men in the middle. This includes the linebackers noted above during the Belichick Era in New England. It includes safeties as well, such as Lawyer Milloy, Rodney Harrison, Devin McCourty, and Jabrill Peppers.

In the weeks since losing Bentley and Peppers, at least four players have won the green dot for the New England Patriots defense during games. Kyle Dugger, Marte Mapu, Jahlani Tavai, and Christian Elliss have all taken turns relaying the defensive calls. Having consistency in that role is important. However, it’s worth noting that the person with the green dot is not 100% responsible for all communication on the defense.

Ideally, Tavai and Dugger would fill these roles. They play the most and are in prime positions to see what is happening. However, Tavai is already adapting to new responsibilities within the defense this season. His plate appears full, focusing on what he needs to be doing. And Dugger has not had a great season for the Patriots. He appears to be part of the miscommunication at times, making it tough to rely on him to be a player to fix it.

As is the case when a key player is lost on any team, The New England Patriots don’t need one or two people to pick up the slack. They need everyone to do so.

What Else Needs to Happen?

New England has five games remaining. They must improve communication and put up better showings than the past two weeks. Patriots players confirmed that communication is an issue for the defense. The organization needs to determine why. Communication is a broad term. The Patriots braintrust must figure out what it means here. Then, they need to fix it.

In a perfect world, from the Patriots’ perspective, Ja’Whaun Bentley will recover completely and return better than ever in 2025. Jabrill Peppers will be cleared of wrongdoing and return to the field. Other players will have gained valuable experience playing larger roles in the defense. Everyone will become more vocal and communicative. The coaching staff gains a year of experience working with this unit. And Eliot Wolf will bring in some pass-rush help, allowing the defense to cover for less time.

It is unclear if things will improve from a communication standpoint by the season’s end. That will be discovered over the next five games. What is clear is that the Patriots losing Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jabrill Peppers contributed to the defense looking lost in recent weeks. That said, those players have been gone for ten and eight weeks, respectively. It’s time for every coach and player in the building to figure out how they can make sure this issue gets resolved.

Jerod Mayo took down some old slogans in the New England Patriots offices. But even after losing two team captains, the show must go on for the franchise. It’s time for the “Next Man Up” in New England. And some unsolicited advice for those Patriots being counted on to play a larger role, “Do Your Job!”