Ten Takeaways From the Patriots 30-17 Loss to the Cardinals

The New England Patriots enjoyed a bye in Week 14. It was a late-season bye for a team that has looked like it needed a break at various points this season. New England hoped to come back refreshed and ready to compete hard in their final four games of the season. That began Sunday in Arizona against the Cardinals.

New England struggled to capitalize on chances. They received too many poor individual performances by too many players. There wasn’t an aspect of the game they didn’t struggle with, including luck. It all added up to a 30-17 Arizona win.

The Cardinals improved to 7-7 on the season, while the Patriots fell to 3-11.

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Here are ten initial takeaways from the Patriots loss in Week 15:

Sloppy Start for Slye, Patriots

New England received the opening kickoff. The Patriots put together a nice opening drive despite shooting themselves in the foot multiple times. Center Ben Brown bounced a shotgun snap to Drake Maye but the QB was able to pick gain control and complete a pass to Rhamondre Stevenson for a 16-yard gain.

Antonio Gibson saw his 15-yard run negated by a holding penalty on Layden Robinson. Then, instead of trying to get a fresh set of downs on third-and-ten, New England was content picking up four yards and giving Joey Slye a slightly easier field goal attempt.

Slye had plenty of leg on the 53-yard attempt but pulled it wide left. Kicker John Parker Romo signed with the Patriots practice squad this past week. Joey Slye’s days in New England might be numbered.

10-0 Run for Arizona

The Cardinals did something the Patriots did not on their opening drive: score. Kyler Murray connected with Marvin Harrison Jr. for a 23-yard completion, the biggest play of the drive. It was the only first down Arizona picked up on their first possession. However, since their drive began at their 43-yard line following Slye’s miss, it was enough to put them in field goal position. Former Patriots kicker Chad Ryland drilled a 49-yard field goal for a 3-0 Cardinals lead.

New England’s second possession was ugly. Stevenson lost two yards on a run. Maye was sacked for a seven-yard loss. The Patriots then went for a four-yard pass to Douglas on third-and-long once again. Douglas fumbled the ball. The Patriots did not lose possession but were forced to punt.

Arizona’s second drive began with a 53-yard run by James Conner. Five plays later the Cardinals were in the end zone. Greg Dortch caught a six-yard pass, but Anfernee Jennings knocked the ball loose as the wide receiver approached the end zone. Cardinals offensive tackle Jonah WIlliams dove on the loose ball and managed to stay in bounds. Ryland’s extra point gave Arizona a 10-0 lead with 1:21 remaining in the first quarter.

Offensive Line Issues Continue

The teams traded second-quarter field goals. It left New England trailing 13-3 at halftime. The lack of offensive production in the first half fell at least partially on the offensive line.

Left tackle Vederian Lowe noticeably had a tough time. He got beat on consecutive plays, resulting in a negative run and a sack. Left guard Layden Robinson picked up that costly holding penalty. And Ben Brown bounced two shotgun snaps to Drake Maye. The lone positive was not presnap penalties from the group, something they had been struggling with.

Repeated lapses in the trenches continue to put the Patriots behind the eight-ball far too often. That trend continued in the first half, even with a reduced number of penalties.

Tackling Troubles

Jerod Mayo stated a focus for the New England Patriots during their bye week would be tackling. That work did not pay immediate dividends in Week 15. New England missed too many opportunities to bring Cardinals players down.

This took the form of Arizona QB Kyler Murray getting away from potential sacks to keep plays alive. Other times, Cardinals ball carriers escaped a tackle to pick up additional yardage. And other occasions saw Patriots defenders take awful angles, taking themselves out of plays.

Jahlani Tavai, Kyle Dugger, and Jabrill Peppers stood out in this respect. Not in a positive way.

Patriots Rushing Game Excels

The New England Patriots want to be a run-first team. They did that in Arizona to a degree. When the team ran the ball, they did so effectively. And there production was not aided by quarterback Drake Maye picking up his usual total. Maye rushed for only 14 yards on four carries in the game.

Running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson did their part. Stevenson finished with 69 yards on 13 carries. Gibson picked up 33 yards on seven carries. If Gibson’s 15-yard gain is included, that would have been 117 yards on 21 carries for New England’s running backs. That type of ground game is exactly what the Patriots have been hoping to see.

First Big Momentum Shift

Despite New England’s success rushing the ball, it failed them when they needed it most. Toward the end of the third quarter, the Patriots moved the ball deep into Cardinals territory. After an incompletion and a nine-yard run from Gibson, the Patriots ran the ball twice to pick up the first down. They didn’t come close to doing so on either attempt.

On third down, left guard Layden Robinson was tossed aside, and the Cardinals stuffed Gibson for no gain. The Patriots went for it on fourth down, handed it to Stevenson to go to the same spot, and got stuffed again. Neither carry was close enough to warrant a measurement. New England turned it over on downs at the Arizona four-yard line with 4:54 remaining in the third quarter and Arizona leading 16-3.

Second Big Momentum Shift

After New England gave the ball back to Arizona on downs, they nearly got it right back. On third-and-six from the Cardinals’ eight-yard line, Kyle Murray scrambled out of the pocket and toward the line of scrimmage. The quarterback attempted an ill-advised pass, lobbing one in the direction of Michael Wilson.

Patriots defensive back Jonathan Jones played it perfectly and intercepted the floater. He got brought down immediately, but the turnover gave New England the ball at Arizona’s 18-yard line. Unfortunately for Jones and the Patriots, the turnover didn’t last long. A questionable flag was thrown on Anfernee Jennings for roughing the passer. Instead of New England’s ball at the 18, it was Arizona’s ball at the 23.

The Patriots forced a punt and got the ball back. But it was not until an additional 2:08 came off the clock. More importantly, New England began their next drive at their own 23-yard line instead of Arizona’s 18.

Third Momentum Shift

Drake Maye completed consecutive passes to get New England out to their 44-yard line after the Arizona punt. Following an incompletion, Maye threw to Kayshon Boutte across the middle. Boutte bobbled the ball and deflected it right into the hands of cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting for an interception.

Murphy-Bunting’s interception proved to be the lone turnover of the game that stood for either team. Nine plays later, the Arizona Cardinals were back in the end zone (one of three James Conner touchdowns) for a 23-3 lead with 10:39 to play in regulation. The outcome felt determined after this sequence, despite the time remaining.

A Few Bright Spots for New England

The New England Patriots deserve credit for not rolling over when they fell behind by 20. A comeback was unlikely, but the team did not quite. For that, they deserve credit.

Drake Maye completed a beautiful 37-yard pass to Kendrick Bourne, his best throw of the afternoon. Two plays later, Maye scrambled to the left and flipped a shuttle pass to DeMario Douglas in the end zone for the Patriots’ first touchdown.

Arizona quickly scored a touchdown of their own to increase their lead to 30-10. There was only 3:27 left but the Patriots once again showed no quit. Maye completed all four passes on the drive, before taking the final play five yards into the end zone himself.

New England’s onside kick was unsuccessful, finalizing the 30-17 win for Arizona.

The late offensive surge gave the offense something to feel good about. The defense had much less to hang their hats on Sunday. The lone exception was the play of cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who continues to play at an extremely high level. Marvin Harrison Jr. received six targets and finished with two receptions for 32 yards. Gonzalez turned the star rookie into a non-factor after his 23-yard reception on the first quarter.

New England Patriots Three Stars

1 – Christian Gonzalez (2 tackles, 3 passes defended)

2 – Drake Maye (19 of 23, 202 yards passing, TD, Int, 14 yards rushing, TD)

3 – Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson (combined, 20 carries for 102 yards, 3 receptions, 47 yards)