Winners and Losers of New England Patriots' Week 4 Performance

This year's edition of the New England Patriots is undoubtedly a flawed team. That much has become apparent at the quarter mark of the 2017 season. Every NFL team is going to have its weaknesses, of course, but we've become accustomed to seeing more complete teams in New England.

After Sunday's loss to the Carolina Panthers dropped New England to 2-2 on the season, it's safe to say the Patriots are not a complete team.

Now, there are certainly some bright spots. Tom Brady is playing the quarterback position brilliantly—he now has 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions—and Rob Gronkowski continues to show he's all the way back. However, the defense is looking like a major liability, as is the team's pass protection.

New England has a lot of work to do with a short turnaround and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers waiting on Thursday night.

So where do the Patriots need to improve? Who were the big winners and losers from Week 4? Let's dig in.

Loser: Brandin Cooks

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With the Patriots defense playing as poorly as it has been, it's up to the offense to put New England in position. The team was able to do so in Week 3, thanks to a breakout game from offseason acquisition Brandin Cooks.

Cooks finished the game against the Houston Texans with 131 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner. That should have been something for him to build off.

"I don't care about last week," Cooks said before the Panthers game, per Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. "I wouldn't say I don't believe in (momentum), but the rule is you've got 24 hours to think about it and now it's on to the next. New opponent, new week, so now you've got to build off that."

Unfortunately, the 24-year-old wasn't much of a factor against his old division rival. He caught just three passes for 38 yards while failing to find the end zone. He also carried the ball once for four yards.

Now, we should recognize that the potential deep threat of Cooks did open up some underneath routes, but he needs to do more in games like this one. The Patriots parted with a first-round pick in order to acquire a No. 1 receiver.

No. 1 receivers in the NFL don't produce just 38 receiving yards against an average secondary.

Winner: Tom Brady

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Tom Brady is a special player. If that wasn't evident earlier in his career, it's become so over the last three years.

The 40-year-old won his fourth and fifth Super Bowl rings in 2014 and 2016, respectively. In addition, he's defying age in a way we haven't seen at the quarterback position before.

Against the Panthers, he passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns. That brings his total through Week 4 to 1,399 yards, 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions. His passer rating for the season so far sits at 116.6. That would be good for the third-highest season mark of his career.

What's remarkable this season is that Brady is succeeding without one of his best receivers, with a lackluster running game and an offensive line that is as big a liability as we've seen during his career.

There are plenty of reasons why the Patriots are off to a disappointing 2-2 record, but Brady definitely isn't one of them.

Loser: The Offensive Line

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Poor offensive-line play might be the biggest concern for New England heading into Week 5.

Offensive tackles Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon have been particularly problematic. Brady was sacked three times and hit seven against the Panthers, which isn't good for any quarterback, let alone a 40-year-old.

The quarterback has now been sacked two fewer times than he did in 12 games in 2016. He's on pace for 52 sacks on the season, which would be 11 more sacks than he's ever taken in one season in his career.

Brady was sacked 41 times in 2001, the second season of his career.

If the offensive line doesn't start playing at a higher level, there may have to be changes. Otherwise, it won't be difficult just to win games, it'll be difficult to get Brady through the remainder of the season.

Winner: Rob Gronkowski

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The offensive line might not be doing much to help Brady out, but tight end Rob Gronkowski certainly is. He's clearly back to 100 percent, and he's back to being an integral part of the offense.

Against the Panthers, Gronk hauled in four passes for 80 yards. He's produced at least 80 yards in each of the past three games. He's on pace for over 1,200 receiving yards, assuming he plays a full 16-game schedule. That would be the second-highest season mark of his career.

Gronkowski also made a bit of Patriots history against Carolina. With 6,413 career yards, the 28-year-old has now produced more yards on the opposite end of Brady's passes than any other player in NFL history. He's also now third on New England's all-time list.

We shouldn't overlook Gronkowski's value as a blocker either. It's just too bad he can't play defensive back.

Loser: Stephon Gilmore

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Aside from the offensive line, New England's secondary has been its biggest weakness this season.

"It's bad. We're letting the team down," safety Devin McCourty said, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com.

There is plenty of blame to go around, but the play of offseason acquisition Stephon Gilmore has been particularly alarming. New England signed the 27-year-old to a five-year, $65 million contract in free agency, but he has not lived up to the hefty price tag.

New England allowed five plays of 20 or more yards against Carolina, and it allowed Cam Newton to pass for 316. He came into the game with just 566 yards passing through three games.

There appeared to be numerous communication breakdowns in New England's secondary on Sunday, many in the general direction of Gilmore. Now, without knowing the play calls, we can't say he was responsible for all of the miscommunication, but he does seem to be the common thread.

What we do know Gilmore was responsible for was a critical penalty at the end of the game. With the contest tied at 30, the Panthers facing 3rd-and-7 and just over two minutes remaining, Deatrich Wise sacked Newton for an 11-yard loss.

Unfortunately, that play was nullified by an illegal-use-of-hands call against Gilmore. The drive continued and ended with Graham Gano's game-winner.

Winner: James White

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The run game has been another disappointment for New England this season. Starter Mike Gillislee was better in Week 4—he produced 49 yards on 12 carries—but he's struggled to sustain much momentum. Through four weeks, he's gained fewer than 200 yards and has averaged just 3.5 yards per carry.

To supplement the passing game, New England has had to utilize the short-passing game. Fellow running back James White has been a boon in that department (he's also averaging 4.1 yards per carry on the year).

The 25-year-old caught a whopping 10 passes against the Panthers for 47 yards. He now has 22 receptions 173 receiving yards to go with 73 yards rushing.

New England should consider utilizing White even more than the team already does. That, or consider acquiring a more consistent leading rusher.

Loser: Matt Patricia

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I said this after New England's Week 2 win over the New Orleans Saints, and I'm going to say it again: Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has to feel like the joke's on him right about now.

The New England defense, as a unit, is very bad.

Against the Saints, the Patriots surrendered 429 yards. Against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, they gave up 42 points, the most in the Bill Belichick era.

Brady had to engineer a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Texans and rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson in Week 3. He led another comeback against the Panthers, but the defense allowed Carolina to answer with a long drive and a walk-off field goal.

Patricia has helped produce two Super Bowl-winning defenses. He doesn't have the talent to do so this year, at least with the system he has in place. Miscommunication in the secondary has been rampant, and the defensive front fails to generate pressure.

Perhaps simplifying the defense will help the unit come together. Perhaps the Patriots need to try trading for more talent. Either way, Patricia has had a rough opening month.

"Earlier this week, Belichick called Newton 'Public Enemy No. 1,' but he may turn that label on his defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia," Danny Heifetz of The Ringer wrote after Sunday's loss.

Would the Patriots really consider parting ways with Patricia? If these defensive struggles continue, it wouldn't be a shock.

Winner: Chris Hogan

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While Patricia may soon find his job in jeopardy if his defense continues performing the way it has been, the same can't be said for wide receiver Chris Hogan, who has become a major part of the offense in recent weeks.

It's not like Hogan was a complete afterthought in 2016. He did have 68 yards and four touchdowns. However, the former Buffalo Bill has—at least to some degree—stepped into the role vacated by the injured Julian Edelman.

Hogan seems to have developed some wonderful chemistry with Brady, and he's become a lethal red-zone threat. He caught five passes on Sunday for 60 yards and a touchdown.

This brings the 28-year-old's total over the past three weeks to 206 yards and four touchdowns. While Cooks has been inconsistent since joining the Patriots, Hogan has been solid and steady over the past three weeks.

Whatever the future holds for New England, Hogan is likely to be a part of it.