Crowe: The 2023 Season Week #7 - Patriots Worst of the Worst?

Crowe: The 2023 Season Week #7 - Patriots Worst of the Worst?

Insanity.

Its definition is sometimes referred to as doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. In those terms, you could describe the New England Patriots situation as insane so far during the 2023 season.

They continue to throw quarterback Mac Jones to the wolves week after week with an offensive line that doesn’t protect him and a non-existent running game (83 yards/game). They rank 27th in overall offense and 31st in points, scoring only 72 points through six games.

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"Look, they're fighting. I think that there's been some injuries up front. There are some young guys playing there – these aren't excuses, these are facts," offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien said, according to the team’s website. They may not be excuses, but O’Brien’s quarterback is struggling, throwing seven interceptions and zero touchdowns in these last three games.

Last week may have been rock bottom with New England (1-5) losing to former Pats QB, backup Brian Hoyer, who took over for another former Pats QB in Jimmy Garoppolo after he suffered a back injury.

Jones, to his credit, did go 11-13 in the fourth quarter in trying to rally his team to a win over the Raiders. But where and when does this insanity end? Rookie quarterback Malik Cunningham got the nod as the backup last week but had only six snaps.  Does that increase this week against the Bills? Maybe it should. New England is 1-5 and has the Bills and Dolphins, the beasts of the AFC East, for the next two weeks. 1-7 could be calling soon. There simply don’t seem to be many answers from an organization and head coach that used to have all the answers for 20 seasons.

With the trade deadline only a week away, this could be the last week we see guys like Josh Uche, Davante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, and Juju Smith-Schuster. If that does happen, it will be interesting to see how fans react to a true rebuilding situation. But don’t expect owner Robert Kraft to make a move on head coach Bill Belichick during this season. Doing something like that might require something more extreme to happen.

You might even call it insane.

Now, on to the NFL’s top ten for week 7:

 

10. Cleveland Browns (3-2, Last week not ranked)

Give the Brownies credit. They had nothing going offensively with backup quarterback PJ Walker, but their top-ranked defense kept them around long enough to beat the previously undefeated 49ers. Cleveland’s D with Myles Garrett can hang with anyone and could give fits to a top seed in the playoffs should they make it.

 

9. Baltimore Ravens (4-2, Last week not ranked)

Plain and simple, Baltimore has to get better in the red zone. Kicking six field goals in London against Tennessee got them a win, but moving ahead, it’s going to lose them games, just like it did in week five against Pittsburgh.

 

8. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-2, Last week ranked 9th)

The Jaguars are now on a four-game win streak that started with a pair of victories over in London. The Jags rallied to beat New Orleans Thursday night to keep themselves on top of the AFC South. Since week 14 of last season, they are an incredible 10-2, with only the Chiefs and 49ers having better records at 10-1.

 

7. Buffalo Bills (4-2, Last week ranked 7th)

Weren’t the Bills supposed to dominate the Giants Sunday night? That 14-9 victory in which Buffalo had to stave off a last-minute pass into the end zone wasn’t exactly the comfortable victory Bills fans were looking for after losing in London in week five. Next up: a trip to Foxboro this Sunday against the Patriots.

 

6. Dallas Cowboys (4-2, Last week ranked 8th)

The Cowboys got a win they desperately needed Monday night over the Chargers, 20-17. It keeps them above .500 at 4-2 heading into the bye and helps them avoid a disastrous two-game losing streak in California. It also gives Dak Prescott (2 touchdowns) some needed confidence moving forward.

 

5. Philadelphia Eagles (5-1, Last week ranked 2nd)

Much like the Niners, the Eagles surprisingly lost in week six, 20-16 to the Jets. The thing that’s different in 2023 about the Eagles is that they are not blowing teams out early in games. Jalen Hurts threw three interceptions in last week’s loss to the Jets, something that’s also different from how he played in 2022. Maybe this will be the wake-up call they need to move forward. Miami comes to town in a battle of Eastern division leaders Sunday night.

 

4. Miami Dolphins (5-1, Last week ranked 4th)

The one major concern for Miami is that they continue to give up points despite new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s vaunted new defense. Also, the five teams they’ve beaten have a combined record of 5-24. They’ll be tested Sunday night against the Eagles and a matchup of former Alabama quarterbacks, Tua Tagovailoa vs. Jalen Hurts.

 

3. Kansas City Chiefs (5-1, Last week ranked 3rd)

It hasn’t been easy or pretty for the Chiefs, but after an opening night loss to Detroit, they’ve run off five straight. The Chargers come calling on a short week for them Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. It’s hard to believe but the Chiefs have not scored a fourth-quarter touchdown yet this season.

 

2. Detroit Lions (5-1, Last week ranked 5th)

The Lions COULD be the best team in football if not for a mental lapse in week 2 at home against Seattle. Detroit is number one against the run and undefeated on the road (3-0), both good signs if you want to be playing football in January and February.

 

1. San Francisco 49ers (5-1, Last week ranked 1st)

If not for Jake Moody’s last-second field goal miss, the Niners would still be undefeated. If not for Brandon Aiyuk’s drop of a last-second touchdown pass, the Niners would still be undefeated. If not for 12 penalties and injuries to Christian McAffrey and Deebo Samuel, the Niners would still be undefeated. You get my drift.

Five games to watch in week 7:
Bills at Patriots (Sunday 1 pm on CBS)
Lions at Ravens (Sunday 1 pm on FOX)
Steelers at Rams (Sunday 4:05 pm on FOX)
Chargers at Chiefs (Sunday 4:25 pm on CBS)
Dolphins at Eagles (Sunday 8:20 pm on NBC)