It wasn’t a pretty game to watch for Patriots fans, nor was it one the Patriots were happy to talk about afterward. But there are some positives among the negatives.
Here are some thoughts on Sunday’s 24-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
1) The secondary is in shambles — Halfway through the second quarter, Kyle Arrington was replaced by Alfonzo Dennard in base coverage. It seemed prudent considering how Arrington had struggled in the first half, getting beat by Doug Baldwin for a 50-yard catch. But Dennard had his own struggles, although much less severe than his counterpart. The rookie was outmaneuvered by Braylon Edwards for a 10-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter on what was likely an offensive pass interference. It doesn’t matter. This secondary is having trouble making plays and each player on the field is having a hard time locating the ball. Rookie Tavon Wilson was beat soundly by Sydney Rice for the winning 46-yard touchdown on a double move. Wilson’s job was to not allow anything to get behind him. Devin McCourty continued to have issues with man-to-man coverage. And Patrick Chung, for all of his talent and experience, has showed that he too has to work on his awareness. He was flagged for pass interference and illegal contact. Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson finished with 293 yards and three touchdowns on 16 of 27 passing. The Seahawks weren’t doing anything special. Just their play-action offense. The Patriots’ secondary just has to play better.
2) Injurious losses — Aaron Hernandez returned to action from an ankle injury and it felt like he hadn’t missed a beat, catching the first pass of the day from Tom Brady and hauling in a 1-yard touchdown later on. But as the day wore on, the Patriots got dinged up pretty good. Brandon Bolden (knee), Matthew Slater (unknown), Patrick Chung (shoulder), and Brandon Lloyd (shoulder) were all hurt in the loss. Chung and Slater said they were fine, but both missed playing time at the end of the game. On Seattle’s winning drive, Chung would have likely been back deep in coverage instead of Tavon Wilson. Slater, as the team’s special teams star, missed a critical punt that the Seahawks’ Leon Washington was able to return for 25 yards before the go-ahead touchdown. His coverage could have prevented that. At this point, the injuries are starting to pile up. With Steve Gregory (hip) out, Julian Edelman (hand) out, and Dont’a Hightower (knee) out, the Patriots desperately need to get healthy fast.
For the rest of the post, please see the original entry on the Extra Points blog on Boston.com.
