The Patriots’ third-down offense is annoyingly uncreative

FOXBORO — Regardless of the loss and distance, the Patriots’ offense has been terrible through the first five weeks of the 2024 season. But the worst came on third down, which once again proved costly for the team 15:10 loss to a struggling Miami Dolphins team.

The Patriots were just 4 of 13 on third down on Sunday. New England is now converting just over 32 percent of its third-down attempts this season, ranking 24th in the NFL.

That there are eight teams worse than the Patriots in third place (including the Dolphins, who won 2 of 11 on Sunday) is pretty incredible. But that doesn’t change the fact that New England’s prowess on third down has been a source of trouble this season.

Although the running game was the Patriots’ best offensive attack – Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson rushed for 141 yards on 18 carries on Sunday – Jacoby Brissett was asked to step back and deliver a pass on all 13 of New England’s third downs against Miami .

The Patriots started the game with a three-and-out when Brissett was sacked for a nine-yard loss in the first third. They were able to convert on their second third down – a third-and-1 at the Miami 34 – when Brissett gave the ball off to Stevenson, but the running back had to fight for yardage.

The Patriots ran this dump on Rhamondre two more times on third down, and both times it didn’t work. At the Miami 16, he gained one yard on a third-and-15 that was followed by a missed field goal by Joey Slye. After running eight yards on the first two downs of New England’s second possession of the second half, Stevenson was sacked for a loss on third down on this scripted play. Yes, a team that can barely move the ball a few yards at a time threw the ball behind the line of scrimmage on a third down, resulting in one of the New England offense’s five three-and-outs on the day led.

The Patriots faced a third-and-1 on their third drive of the game and may have made it, but backup center Nick Leverett was charged with illegal movement of the football for a false start. After a third-and-5, Brissett went to Ja’Lynn Polk down the right sideline, but missed a little too much on the throw.

The team’s best third-down play came at halftime when Brissett hit Kayshon Boutte for 13 yards on a third-and-4 from the Miami 35. But the Pats only got two more yards after that, settling for a 38-yarder. Yard field goal.

Brissett hit DeMario Douglas for 19 yards on the second-to-last third down of the day, taking the Patriot to the Miami 12 and setting him up Polk’s tipped touchdown. That touchdown that wasn’t came on second down, and Brissett’s third-down pass into the end zone went to no one in particular and fell incomplete.

Overall, Brissett was 6 of 12 for 38 yards on his throws in the third, but also suffered a sack loss of nine yards. This won’t beat any team, even one that has struggled as badly as the Dolphins.

The Patriots’ passing attack doesn’t inspire fear in anyone, and teams have to be excited when New England falls behind to advance on third down. Defensive backs know Brissett can’t make the throw, and pass rushers know New England’s offensive line can’t protect him. Nevertheless, Alex Van Pelt keeps calling. passing plays, and when he doesn’t do that, he has Brissett throwing short passes that have no real chance of moving the chains.

The Patriots offense doesn’t have the depth it can rely on to move the ball. That one high percentage play where everyone knows what they’re doing and is more likely not to get a first down. (Think of all the wheel routes from Tom Brady to guys like Kevin Faulk/Shane Vereen/James White.) Nobody is reliable in this offense, starting with the quarterback.

Brissett was 18 of 34 for just 160 yards on Sunday, with 46 of those yards coming on her last attempt while Miami was on a prevent defense. He’s a tough guy who perseveres and takes hit after hit (he was beaten nine times by the Dolphins on Sunday), but he can’t do the one thing an offense is supposed to do: score points. The Pats can barely move the ball downfield, which will lead to a lot of loud screaming from Drake Maye in the coming weeks.

The lack of any pass protection contributes to New England’s third-down woes, and Sunday’s absurd amount of penalties made it difficult for the offense to do anything. But it would be nice to see some third-down runs with the team’s best playmakers coming out of the backfield. The only way the Patriots can win is by running the ball, controlling the clock and keeping the ball away from the other team.

The Patriots didn’t run enough of the ball on Sunday and had no control of the clock at all. All of these unsuccessful third downs resulted in the offense leaving the field and putting another strain on the New England defense, which was significantly weakened in the fourth quarter when Miami scored the go-ahead touchdown.

The inability to convert on third down is just one of the many problems facing New England’s offense this season. But a real lack of inventive play really hurts the team in these crucial situations.