The Patriots fell into an early 10-0 deficit against the Cardinals on Sunday and were unable to claw their way back into the game, eventually falling to Arizona by a score of 30-17.
Offensively, Drake Maye and the Patriots offense struggled to move the ball and score points until the game was out of reach, while the defense was solid enough on third down to keep the Cardinals within striking distance into the second half but the Pats D couldn't make enough big plays to turn the tide.
Many of the same problems that have haunted New England all season long continued to be issues that led to defeat, with mistakes in key spots giving the Cardinals enough of an edge to pull away to victory.
Here's how New England's 11th loss of the season went down.
1. Patriots Look Sharp, Briefly
The Patriots won the opening coin toss and decided to take the ball, sending an early message of confidence in their offense. The initial returns looked sharp, as Drake Maye helped orchestrate two first-down pickups thanks to an 11-yard catch and run by Hunter Henry and a 16-yard reception by Rhamondre Stevenson out of the backfield.
The Pats got as far as the Arizona 33 before the mistakes started to strike. First, rookie Layden Robinson committed a holding penalty, and that eventually led to a missed 53-yard field goal by Joey Slye. Just like that, the promising first drive was derailed and resulted in zero points.
The Pats defense managed to step up after the missed field goal, delivering a third-down stop after Arizona gained 26 yards on six plays. The Cards settled for a field goal from former Patriots Chad Ryland, good from 49 yards to give Arizona a 3-0 lead.
After a lackluster Patriots three-and-out running back James Conner ripped off a 53-yard run that jumpstarted a second scoring drive for the Cardinals. Their touchdown came from an unconventional play as Anfernee Jennings punched the ball out of receiver Greg Dortch's hands on the goal line, only to see Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Williams pounce on the loose ball for the score. It was nearly a touchback and an excellent score-saving play by Jennings, but the Pats were catching the breaks.
Despite showing some early offensive promise, the mistakes started to add up for the Patriots as penalties, big plays and poor ball security all reared their ugly heads. The Patriots looked sloppy coming off their bye and fell into a 10-0 hole because of it.
2. Marcus Jones Provides a Spark
The teams traded second-quarter punts before New England found a spark from cornerback/returner/part-time offensive weapon Marcus Jones. Maye hit Jones on a swing pass out of the backfield and Jones navigated his way through the Cardinals defenders for an 18-yard gain. The drive would stall out again shortly after Jones' big gain, but Slye would rebound from his earlier miss to hit a 50-yard field goal to make it 10-3.
Arizona would respond on their final drive before halftime, with a 39-yard catch-and-run by Greg Dortch quickly flipping field position. It was a demoralizing play, as the Patriots were poised to get out of the half only down one score, but Dortch eluded multiple Patriots defenders to deliver Arizona's second explosive play of the game.
With time running out the Patriots defense again stiffened with Christian Gonzalez coming up with a key pass defense in the end zone while covering talented first-round pick Marvin Harrison Jr..
Arizona settled for a 35-yard Ryland field goal that reestablished a 10-point lead at the half, with the Cardinals up 13-3. At halftime, it seemed like Arizona was firmly in control of the game.
Maye was a perfect 10-for-10 in the first half, but the Patriots totaled just 89 yards of offense compared to Arizona's 204. New England averaged 3.7 yards per-play, the Cardinals averaged 7.3, while the Patriots were also 0-for-5 on third down offensively.
3. Cardinals Keep Pedal Down
The Cardinals executed their second-straight 10-play drive to open the third quarter, but once again the Patriots defense stepped up with a third-down stop and forced Arizona to settle for a 40-yard field goal, their third field goal kick of the game. AT 16-3 the Patriots were hanging by a thread and in need of a spark to get back into the game.
It looked like they would get that spark on their next drive, getting key contributions from Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson but the drive ended in disappointment as they were stopped on fourth down at the Arizona four-yard line. Stevenson was the catalyst, ripping off back-to-back runs of 15 and 10 yards to move the offense into Cardinals territory. A 29-yard burst by Gibson further energized the drive, bringing the Patriots into the red zone, their first trip inside the red zone of the game.
However, the offense faltered inside the five-yard line, with Gibson failing to gain any yardage on third down and Stevenson stuffed on 4th-and-1, leaving points on the board and handing any stolen momentum back to Arizona.
4. Maye pick leads to seven more Cardinals points
For the second game in a row, Drake Maye had tough interception luck as another tipped ball pick derailed some growing momentum. This one went off of Kayshon Boutte's hands and gave Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense a chance to extend their lead.
The Cardinals would take advantage of the opportunity, going 55 yards in nine plays for their second touchdown of the game, a one-yard run by James Conner. That made it 23-3 in the fourth quarter, effectively sealing the victory for Arizona.
The Pats would grab a touchdown on the next drive, thanks to a 37-yard heave by Maye to Kendrick Bourne down the sideline that set it up. Maye then threw a shovel pass to Pop Douglas for the score with the successful extra point closing the score to 23-10.
The Cardinals would answer with a nine-play, 70-yard drive that added another touchdown and made it 30-10. The Pats tacked on a final score, a keeper by Maye to make it 30-17.
5. Patriots are now 3-11
With the disappointing loss, the Patriots fall to 3-11 on the season, dropping their fourth game in a row. Coming off the bye week, New England failed to find a new gear or clean up many of the mistakes that have haunted them the entire season. After a week of stressing better performances inside the red zone while limiting penalties, both continued to be a problem, along with turnovers that included a tipped ball interception and a failed fourth-down conversion that both kept Patriots points off the board.
There will be no reprieve, as the Patriots must now head to Buffalo to take on the surging Bills for the first meeting between the two teams in the next three weeks. The Bills are fresh off a huge win over the Lions and will be looking to stay within striking distance of the AFC's top seed that comes with the valuable playoff bye week.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
