The New England Patriots aren’t quite living up to the hype they had following a monstrous spending spree in free agency.
Mac Jones has been good, but the Patriots haven’t fully unleashed the playbook and gave him a chance to take big shots. New England has tried to run the ball, play great defense and let Jones take short to immediate chances to move the sticks.
That method almost wasn’t enough in the 25-22 win over the Houston Texans in Week 5, a team that lost 40-0 the previous week to the Buffalo Bills. The subpar performance leads to the question — are the Patriots a playoff team?
Rex Ryan, on ESPN’s ‘Get Up!’, answered this question with a very animated response.
“Hell no,” Ryan said, transcribed by NESN. “Because you got a peashooter at quarterback? Give me a break right here. This team should’ve been beat by the Houston Texans. A playoff team? … No chance at this thing. Their defense is not as good as it’s been.
” … Hey, the ball travels down the field more than 15 yards? Uh-oh! That’s bad news for this guy. He’s closer to Danny Wuerffel than he is Tom Brady.”
Jones currently has 1,243 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions through five games — with a 71.1 completion percentage and an average of 6.5 yards per throw. He’s been good for the Patriots, but good may not be enough with the lack of defensive dominance Bill Belichick has had.