The Patriots finished off the 2023 in disappointing fashion, with New England allowing the Jets to snap their 15-game losing streak during a 17-3 loss during a snow-filled game at Gillette Stadium.
That loss dropped the Patriots to 4-13 on the season, finishing off what’s been a disappointing season with plenty of changes likely now ahead.
We’ll talk about some of those in the coming days, but here are some thoughts on what transpired Sunday.
1) Heading into Sunday’s contest, the Patriots came into this week scoring the 6th fewest points over the last five weeks, with the hope being that Bailey Zappe and the offense could maybe have a big afternoon and finish on a high note against their Division rivals.
It’s safe to say, that didn’t happen.
Instead, they managed just three points, with Zappe and the offense struggling mightily throughout this one. Granted, both teams were up against some fairly difficult conditions on Sunday, with the snow coming down heavily throughout the contest. Zappe admitted after the game he hadn’t played in conditions like that before and that it was difficult, but offered up no excuses.
“I mean, this was probably my first time in weather like this, this bad. As far as throwing the ball, I mean, you’ve got to think about it,” said Zappe. “Your foot, half your foot is stuck in snow. I mean, it’s hard. I mean, that’s all kind of goes in together. I mean, there’s no excuses. Both teams have play in it. You can’t sit up here and say, “weather screwed us.” I mean, both teams had to play in it.”
Overall, Zappe finished the afternoon completing 12-of-30 for 88yds and two interceptions, but was astonishing was the fact that Zappe’s struggles were equal in both halves.
He completed just 6-of-15 for 48-yards through the first two quarters of play, and finished things up by completing 6-of-15 for 40 yards along with two interceptions in the second half, with both of his turnovers coming on the same drive.
Zappe seemingly got incredibly lucky on the first turnover, with the quarterback taking a shot downfield on a 2nd-and-26 after he was dropped for a 16-yard loss on the play before. He was picked off by Jets safety Ashtyn Davis at New York’s 42-yard line. But during the return, Mike Gesicki knocked the ball out and offensive lineman Vederian Lowe hustled down the field and recovered the loose football.
Lowe suffered an injury on the play, but his hustle didn’t go unnoticed after the game by head coach Bill Belichick.
“I thought that was indicative of their competitiveness at the end,” said Belchick on the effort his team put forth on Sunday. “On the strip after the interception, and the recovery by [Vederian] Lowe, really gave himself up on it and just played hard. But we just couldn’t make enough plays to win.”
Unfortunately, Zappe was picked again two plays later, with Jets running back Breece Hall putting the game away on their ensuing series after Hall broke off a 50-yard touchdown run, with the Jets following that up with a two-point conversion to put this one out of reach.
But the stat that stood out the most was their struggles on third down. New England converted just 1-of-14 attempts, with Zappe completing just 1-of-8 of his third-down throws.
It was tough, and the second-year quarterback had some plays where he did a good job eluding pressure and putting himself in position to have more success, but was off the mark a little too frequently.
Instead of getting better as the game went on, his struggles were consistent throughout. That kept New England from ever really getting anything going, and as the Jets kept kicking field goals, the eventual 9-3 edge they held felt insurmountable.
In the end, Zappe was never able to rise up to the level they needed, with newly appointed back-up Nathan Rourke remaining on the sideline throughout this one.
Who will be under center next fall will likely be the discussion all offseason but it’s clear that they’re going to need to improve heading into 2024, and they’re going to need a lot of help on that side of the ball for whoever is calling signals on offense next season.
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
2) With that in mind, DeVante Parker certainly didn’t do Zappe any favors on Sunday.
The veteran wideout was a player Zappe looked to four times on Sunday, completing just one pass for six yards.
One of their bigger misses came later in the contest with a deep ball Zappe threw down the field while trying to get a big play.
Parker seemingly pulled up and wasn’t running at full speed, and certainly didn’t appear poised to make the extra effort to potentially try and haul it in.
He’s been one of the most frustrating players for this team all year, with he and Zappe seemingly at least appearing to get on the same page down the stretch. But with nothing to play for, Parker appeared to be mailing it on Sunday and the offense struggled as a result.
It’s still hard to believe he was extended this past offseason, and it’s going to be interesting to see if and when the club re-evaluates their current group of skill players, whether or not they opt to keep him around, or go in a different direction.
Meanwhile, teammate Jalen Reagor instead went out and put together a good showing, showing a sharp contrast in terms of his intensity and effort. While Reagor finished Sunday’s game with just one reception (a terrific 33-yard grab), he fought for each ball that came his way and simply came up short.
This is a team who already has guys who don’t seem to be big on giving their best 100% of the time. For a club that will likely be trying to re-establish is culture next season, one would believe his name will come up in that conversation.
3) One thing that deserves attention is the fact Ezekiel Elliott left it all out on the field during his first season in New England, with another terrific effort in the finale.
Elliott carried much of the load on Sunday, carrying 13 times for 54 yards, along with hauling in 5 catches for 27-yards.
He also took some unbelievable shots on Sunday as Zappe threw a couple of passes that put the veteran in harm’s way, yet he sustained the impact and got back up.
Elliott could have easily gotten frustrated and with the Patriots heading into Sunday’s game with no chance for a postseason appearance, he absolutely could have mailed it in.
Instead, save for one play where he slid after he was past the marker, Elliott gave it his all for yet another week, which is something he’s done since the club previously lost Rhamondre Stevenson for the year.
The veteran said after the game that playing for Belichick is something he’s appreciative of, and he’s glad he ended up in Foxboro this season.
“I feel very lucky. Feel very lucky to play for the best coach ever,” said Elliott after the game. “You can tell by the way he attacks every day. The way he demands excellence from everyone top to bottom. He loves to coach. He’s going to coach you up; you’re going to get coached up. I’m very appreciative to play for him.”
Elliott finishes the season with 184 carries for 642 yards and three rushing touchdowns, along with 51 catches for 313 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns.
That’s 955-yards of offensive production. Not bad for a guy many had wondered how much he had left in the tank.
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)
4) For yet another week, the defense put together another solid effort, holding the Jets’ offense at bay despite being put in some tough field position along with not getting much of a break after the offense converted just 1-of-14 on third down on Sunday and couldn’t stay on the field.
However, the Jets didn’t fare much better after they moved the chains on just 3-of-15 of their own third-down attempts, with Jets quarterback Trevor Siemien finished Sunday completing just 8-of-20 for 70-yards, with the defense holding Siemien to completing just 1-of-9 of his third down passes.
While the Jets managed three field goals, it wasn’t until late in the game when they are gassed where Hall managed to break off his big run. But they managed to hit Siemien 10 times and really did a terrific job both in coverage and limiting what the Jets were able to do.
Overall, this is a group that has played hard down the stretch and just couldn’t get much support from the offensive side of the football.
Jabrill Peppers said after the game that he was disappointed and that he wasn’t happy finishing things off on a low note.
“It is what it is,” said Peppers. “We wanted to build some momentum for next year. You never want to end the season off with a loss.”
It’s just too bad they couldn’t ever seem to get things figured out on the other side of the football. Because this group was solid all year and certainly competitive enough for them to be better than where they finished.
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)
5) It’s safe to say that with the 2023 season now in the rearview, tight end Mike Gesicki certainly ended up being a massive disappointment.
Gesicki was a player who was expected to potentially be a big contributor on offense, but the hybrid tight end was never able to string any performances together.
Sunday saw one moment where Zappe threw a pass out his way under pressure and Gesicki stuck his hand out but made little effort to haul it in, and he never appeared to be comfortable in this system.
He finished Sunday with three targets, with Zappe completing just one pass for 5-yards.
The veteran came close to a big moment after he had one pass that appeared to be a potential touchdown. On the play, Zappe lofted a throw to him in the corner of the end zone that he nearly hauled in but lost it as he hit the ground after safety Tony Adams knocked it away at the last moment.
But that sort of feels like a story for Gesicki all year. Some close moments, but we never saw him perform at the level many hoped he might.
Gesicki’s highlight on Sunday was the strip to force a fumble he had to give the Patriots back the football on Zappe’s first pick, which Lowe managed to come up with. But much like we’ve seen for most of the year, he never became who fans likely expected.
That was the story of the year by several guys and Sunday ended up being a bookend on their frustrating 4-13 finish.
What happens in the coming weeks will be something we’ll all be watching, and it will be interesting to see just how different this group looks the next time we see them out there in training camp a little less than six months from now.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
