3 Takeaways from Patriots' Week 9 Loss vs. Commanders
The New England Patriots' season officially feels over.
The Patriots were doomed by a similar set of errors in their Week 9 defeat to the Washington Commanders that dropped them to 2-7.
New England is mired in the AFC basement ahead of its trip to Germany. Only three other teams have three wins in the AFC and that number could drop to two if the Los Angeles Chargers beat the New York Jets on Monday night.
There are very few positives surrounding the franchise at the moment, and that could lead to a hard reboot in the offseason.
The only silver lining to Sunday's 20-17 loss is that the Patriots are slated to have a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL draft and are a few more defeats away from potentially competing for the No. 1 overall selection.
Any Remaining Hope for a Turnaround Is Gone
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New England entered Sunday with a sliver of hope that it could bounce back from a dreadful start.
The Patriots had two winnable games on the schedule before the Week 11 bye, starting with the home contest against the Commanders.
Instead, the same mistakes that plagued the Patriots in previous games reared their head and the team was left with disappointment and a miserable flight over to Germany ahead in the coming days.
Mac Jones was once again underwhelming and the defense failed to contain Sam Howell and the Washington passing game.
The Patriots will leave Week 9 with a minimum 2.5-game deficit to make up in the AFC East. A Jets win on Monday night would make that gap three full games.
New England is nowhere close to contending for a wild-card spot, so it is probably more beneficial to lose more and land a high draft pick that can potentially alter the franchise's future.
Defense Could Not Stop Anything
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New England let up its highest yardage total of the season on Sunday.
Washington totaled 420 yards, the majority of which came by way of Howell's arm.
The Commanders threw for 325 yards and four different players had more than 40 receiving yards. Five Washington players had at least four receptions.
New England's defense was especially bad at the start of the second half, when Washington scored all of its second-half points.
The Patriots let up a 75-yard touchdown drive and a 65-yard field goal series that flipped the complexion of the game.
Bill Belichick's side held a seven-point advantage after it kicked a field goal to open the third quarter.
Washington proceeded to put its two best offensive drives together and forced a punt in between those series to take the advantage.
New England forced the Commanders to punt on three occasions after those scores, but it still allowed 52 yards on those drives. The offense failed to flip the field after two of those punts. The third answering drive resulted in a game-ending interception.
The Patriots needed to be stronger at the start of the second half to preserve the lead, but instead those two scores cost them the victory.
Demario Douglas Continues to Progress
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Demario Douglas' progress is one of the few positives the Patriots can take away from Week 9.
The rookie out of Liberty caught five passes for the second straight week and recorded a single-game career high of 55 receiving yards.
Douglas will have an elevated role for the rest of the season due to Kendrick Bourne's torn ACL.
The sixth-round pick did not seem fazed by the increased responsibility, and he found a way to average 11 yards per catch despite Jones' struggles in the pocket.
Douglas should be the primary target in the passing game for the rest of the season, so that he can showcase his skills to the Patriots coaching staff, and prove that he is one of the young pieces worth building around in 2024 and beyond.
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