The Patriots should get their passing game under control soon, otherwise they are lost

If the upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 was an ode to the tough, old-fashioned identity that new coach Jerod Mayo gave them, Sunday’s 23-20 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks was a reminder that old-fashioned football rules are full of limitations. This brand of football comes with little built-in margin for error. That came back to haunt them in a game the Patriots seemed to have under control.

That Week 2 wake-up call was a reminder of why offensive gurus and quarterback whisperers are all the rage when it comes to hiring NFL head coaches. That’s not an indictment of Mayo, who once again gave his team a stellar game plan and a chance to win. But in today’s NFL, football sins can be forgiven with a competent aerial attack. Seattle certainly did that.

An effective passing attack is the eraser on the pencil of professional football. Without it, you’re playing the game with permanent marker. Mistakes have an indelible impact on the outcome, an outcome that feels inevitable – more losses than wins.

The Patriots weren’t perfect, but they executed several aspects of their game plan. New England won the time of possession battle by six minutes (35 minutes, 42 seconds to Seattle’s 29-41). They stopped the run, allowing just 2.4 yards per carry, and ran the ball even better than they did against the Bengals, where they amassed 185 yards on 36 carries. They recorded zero turnovers for the second straight game. They committed half as many penalties (3) as Seattle.

That made the Seahawks, who were without injured running back Kenneth Walker III, completely one-dimensional. Still, the Patriots lost this battle of the league’s youngest head coaches because Mike Macdonald’s club has a capable quarterback in Geno Smith (33 of 44, 327 yards, 1 TD) and three talented pass catchers: DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, who earned two bad pass interference calls that gave Seattle 10 points, including the game-winning field goal in overtime, and second-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who made 12 catches for 117 yards.

“Geno is a damn good quarterback,” Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux said. “He doesn’t get a lot of credit for it, but he’s a good quarterback.”

The mentality Mayo instilled in the Patriots and the motivation he provided as a new coach remain extremely impressive, but in his quest to maximize the team’s strengths and minimize its weaknesses – the hallmark of any good coach – he lets them fall into football zip lines.

They’re well on their way to victory. One wrong move — like the ill-advised sack of Jacoby Brissett in the fourth quarter that turned a 39-yard field goal attempt by Joey Slye that would have given the Patriots a 23-17 lead into a 48-yard field goal attempt that was blocked — and the Patriots are falling.

Credit Mayo. Unlike some fans, he knows the Cincinnati plan can’t be copied and pasted over 17 games. He understands his team needs more balance between offense and defense and more offensive variety.

“We definitely need to start moving the ball down the field,” Mayo said. “We need to start moving the ball down the field to get that double defense, and we need to be able to run. We need to be able to pass. We need to be able to switch back and forth between the two.”

“That’s what we need to work on. … We just need to be more balanced on offense, and that will be the goal this week.”

Mayo admitted, “This is not a fancy football team.” No, it’s one that relies on toughness and grit. But you’re not going to win many NFL games by completing three passes for 19 yards to receivers, even if one of them was the first touchdown of rookie Ja’Lynn Polk’s career.

You won’t win games if your passing attack remains muted. Brissett protected the football and a makeshift offensive line, but he completed just 15 of 27 passes for 149 yards, including the 5-yard touchdown toss to Polk.

Forget Tom Brady’s 300-yard passing days, Brissett has totaled 270 yards in two games. An abomination in 2024.

“I think we’re a physical team. We have two really good defenders,” center David Andrews said. “There are games where you have that and you’re going to have success. But we just have to be more productive in the passing game. When we start doing that and putting it together, we’re going to have a lot of success.”

In the fourth quarter and overtime, Smith completed 11 of 14 passes for 102 yards. Brissett was 2 of 4 for 14 yards. He’s not throwing to anyone the caliber of Metcalf, a defensive dictator who managed to catch 10 passes for 129 yards and a 56-yard touchdown.

But if the Patriots try to win by passing after passing, good luck. It’s a steep climb, even if the other team short-circuits its own offense with drops and penalties, as Seattle did, or if their coach routinely consults his analytics book on the first offense of the second half instead of going by game feel.

Even though his team couldn’t take a bath all day, with a 14-10 lead, Macdonald decided to try fourth-and-1 at the Patriots’ 23-yard line, forgoing a 41-yard field goal to follow the AI-assisted advice.

Predictably, the Seahawks were stopped and gave the hosts new life. But they couldn’t hold on.

“We gave it away,” Godchaux said.

Both teams ran 66 plays, but Seattle dropped back to pass 47 times while New England only managed to do so 30 times.

There is simply less room for error with the old-fashioned approach, even if the Patriots don’t want to admit it directly.

We’ll quickly see if the Patriots are able to change their game plan for the New York Jets, the team they face at the Meadowlands on Thursday night. That’s one of the questions about these Patriots – how many bats do they have in their bag?

It’s great to have a tough, physical identity on both sides of the ball. It’s a recipe for success to keep games exciting and competitive.

But in today’s NFL, air travel is king. The Patriots need to figure out how to add that element to their rock identity under Mayo.

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Christopher L. Gasper is a columnist for the Globe. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @cgasper and on Instagram @cgaspersports.