MORSE: An Ugly Performance By Patriots In Crushing Loss to Cowboys

Embarrassing, Ugly and Putrid, take your pick!

My mother said that if you don’t have anything good to say about a person, don’t say anything at all. If I do that, this would be a very short article because I didn’t see anything good in that game.

When Christian Gonzalez went down with a shoulder injury, the wind went out of the Patriots sails. Immediately, the Cowboys went after Myles Bryant (5′ 9″) with CeeDee Lamb (6’2″) for a TD. Game Over!

This was the worst loss deficit (35 pts,) in Bill Belichick’s coaching career. They are down to Myles Bryant, Jalen Mills (S), and Shawn Wade as their cornerbacks. Kyle Dugger again got burned as the Free Safety. He made a nice hit, but the receiver had already made 15-yard catch.

The lines on both sides got their heads handed to them. They were non-competitive.

You have to give the Cowboys Defense credit, they are elite. However, Jones looked like a deer in the headlights. He threw off his back foot too often. He doesn’t have the arm strength to throw off his back foot. He made a throw across the field and completed it and I said to my wife that QBs are instructed as youth football players not to throw the ball across the field. Jones does it once and then thinks he can do it again (pick 6).

Why wasn’t Jones benched for fumbling when a player came from behind and knock the ball out (scoop and score)?

Jones should have been replaced at halftime.

Mike Gesicki is a slot receiver and not a TE. He can’t (won’t) block to save his life. Play him as a slot receiver and put Parker and Smith-Schuster on the bench. Maybe they can cut them as far as I am concerned.

What is up with Michael Owenu? He is coming off an injury and missed the entire off-season and pre-season. Owenu is playing for his next contract, and with three drive killing penalties he will unlikely be re-signed. Here is the sequence at the start of the 2^nd quarter. The Patriots drive to the 50 and Owenu gets called for a false start. That call was completely blown by the officials as the player across from Owenu made a move signaling the snap and Owenu reacted to it. That should have been encroachment on Dallas. Now it’s 3^rd and 15 and Jones completes a nice pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster for 14. On 4^th down at the Dallas 41 Bill O’Brien calls the Tush Push and Jones takes a dive into the ground. Bill O’Brien, stop calling the Tush Push play, Jones is no runner. He is not Tom Brady and won’t get that one yard you need. I thought O’Brien called a very poor game.

Next, the Patriots Defense had their best series of the game with a 3 and out for – 8 yards to force a punt. The Cowboys got off a big punt and Douglas tries to return a kick inside the 12-yard line and losses 2 yards. It’s 1^st and 10 at the Patriots 10 and Owenu comes through with another false start. Jones coughs up the ball (knocked out from behind) and a scoop and score.

What the heck? Bailey Zappe is the 1^st person out to speak to the media after the game.

The Matthew Judon injury may be season ending. The early report is a bicep tendon injury.

I don’t which is worse, losing Judon and Gonzalez or losing by 35 points?

Greg Bedard says the Patriots just don’t have the talent to play against a top team like Dallas. They have no depth and have been racked by injuries.

There is no margin for error for the Patriots. They have to play perfectly, and they just aren’t good enough to overcome problems. Per Mike Giardi, the Cowboys played a disrespectful defense by playing man, up in their face and dominating the Offensive line against the run and in the pass rush.

The good thing is we are onto New Orleans at home next week. It’s not inconceivable the Pats could be 3-3 after 6 games!

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About Mark Morse

Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.

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