Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - POSTCAST — New England Patriots Fall to Las Vegas Raiders 30-24: Shock and Awful

Starting point is 00:00:00 The New England Patriots dropped to 7-7 on the 2022 season in inexplicable and unfathomable fashion. What went wrong? Stay tuned. You're about to be locked into this special edition postcast episode of the Locked On Patriots Podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network.

Starting point is 00:00:25 Your team, every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us here on Locked on Patriots. It's a special edition postcast episode breaking down the New England Patriots' Week 15 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, 30-24. I used the terms inexplicable, unfathomable earlier, folks. I'm just scratching the surface.

Starting point is 00:01:10 Here tonight to help us break down exactly what we just saw is our resident voice of reason. And boy, do we need our resident voice of reason desperately right now. He is the columnist extraordinaire from Patsfans.com and the co-host of two amazing podcasts, Patriots 4th and 2, and One Patriots Place. My good friend, my Patriots paisan, Steve Balistrieri, joins me tonight. Steve, question one, what the hell were the Patriots thinking? Obviously nothing, because you said the voice of reason. I don't know how reasonable I am tonight because I'm here to tell you, I watched this last couple of minutes of the game unfold

Starting point is 00:01:54 and this is a very stupid football team. They have a lot of coaches that make really, I don't even want to say questionable, really stupid decisions. And it reflects on the players. And, you know, I was one of the ones that said, hey, we need to let this play out, you know, beginning of the season. But this coaching staff has been so shorthanded all through the season. They have the smallest coaching staff in the league, and it's showing its ugly head because these players keep making

Starting point is 00:02:33 the same dumb mistakes time after time. And, you know, the Raiders in the second half did absolutely nothing. And with two minutes to go, they get the ball back. And, you know, I was watching Marcus Jones, who played so great all game long. And I was thinking, you know, I was already making notes for my postgame report of my own. And I'm thinking, I think he's player of the game number two, right behind Ramondre Stevenson. And then I looked up to my horror and I see them. And this is coaching decision.

Starting point is 00:03:13 They're having him play 12 to 13 yards off the ball. And I'm like, this is a very easy way to let the Raiders just take those eight, 10-yard passes and move right down the field, and then it's going to be a play on time. They're going to be taking shots in the end zone, and that's exactly what happened. And to me, I was watching the game, and to me, it was completely unfathomable how dumb the defensive coaches put their positions,

Starting point is 00:03:47 players in a position not to succeed. They were doing so well all game. And then Derek Carr really did nothing until that last couple of drives, you know, the second half. And they just went right down the field. And regardless of whether or not the guy was out of bounds, which he was by a wide margin. And I'm thinking, okay, 30 seconds left.

Starting point is 00:04:12 Just run the ball and play for overtime. You're not behind. You're not behind. There was no reason for them to panic as they did and start lateral in the football around. If you're behind two, three points, then by all means, you have to at that point. But I thought that was completely, utterly stupid football. These are the things that we made fun of other teams for 20 years.

Starting point is 00:04:41 Absolutely. You know, as I watched that last fiasco unfold, I'm thinking to myself, Mark Sanchez, you are off the hook. Yeah. Because the butt fumble will take a far backseat to this one. You know? Yeah. This was entire.

Starting point is 00:05:00 It's like, Jacoby Myers, what was he thinking? He's going to ladder back to Mac Jones around the 50-yard line? it's like Jacoby Myers, what was he thinking? He's going to ladder back to Mac Jones around the 50 yard line. Is Mac going to run 50 yards? I don't think so. It's true. It really is. And, you know, I always pride myself on trying to be as positive as I can be sometimes to a detriment. You know, sometimes I'm called out for being a little bit of a Homer or too much of, you know, wearing, seeing things through rose-colored glasses. But at the same time, I described that final play as

Starting point is 00:05:31 one of the dumbest plays I've seen in NFL history. And I'm sorry to say it, folks, it is inexplicable in terms of what the Patriots were to do. And you hit the nail right on the head, Steve. These are the things that Patriots fans consistently would look at other teams that shot themselves in the foot, inexplicably did things that just didn't make any sense either in crunch time or in clutch situations or at the end of games that cost them the game. And the Patriots were always on the receiving end of that. They were always on the winning side of that because they played smarter than everyone else. They were one step ahead when everyone else was two steps back. And that is not the case with this team this year. This is not an isolated incident, folks. These have been

Starting point is 00:06:13 happening regularly to this team. This was the most egregious that we've seen so far. And it really is disheartening when you look at what this has done now for the New England Patriots, who really should have come away with a win in this one. The way the defense played, especially in the second half, really riding the ship. You mentioned shutting down Devontae Adams. Marcus Jones was excellent in that regard. I thought they put a pretty good lid on Josh Jacobs in the second half. He ran a little bit, you know, rough shot in the first half.

Starting point is 00:06:44 The Patriots defense adjusted. You saw Josh Uche getting after the quarterback once again. These are the little things, the intangibles that the Pats were starting to do to try to put themselves back in this game, chipping away. And then, of course, from Andre Stevenson and Jacoby Myers kind of combining on that touchdown that the New England Patriots desperately needed to put themselves on top 24 to 17. I started to think I was starting to look pretty smart the Patriots were hanging on to a 24 to 17 lead that's the final score I predicted in our um in our um the other excuse me folks it's been a long night and it's been a disturbing night in our crossover show on Thursday I did predict a 24 to 17 victory for the New England

Starting point is 00:07:26 Patriots. And all of a sudden it started to look possible. But in that final drive, you mentioned Derek Carr, you mentioned the, um, the Las Vegas Raiders being able to find seams down, you know, and pick the defense apart and really, uh, you know, have our defense lined up in a very, very precarious circumstance and a really precarious spot. Folks, it is just scratching the surface here on this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast, special edition postcast episode. We will be talking about special team snafus as well. The New England Patriots had an egregious one at the end of the half, another miscue that just, again, leaves you scratching your head.

Starting point is 00:08:07 Steve and I will discuss that in just a moment. And, of course, we'll have more on the Patriots' final drive. We'll talk a little bit about the controversial call that set all of the madness up. And we'll bring it all home by talking about what this all means for the Patriots in the short term and in the long term when this episode of the Locked on Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fan Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com is joining me here today on this postcast episode of the Locked on Patriots podcast, breaking down the Patriots 30-24 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, dropping them to 7-7 on the season. Steve, obviously we talked about the final play.

Starting point is 00:08:51 It really is just, I think we've used every adjective that we can possibly think of to keep it clean for this episode, folks. But, you know, bottom line, it really, really is a difficult situation when you look at the New England Patriots and what they have to do now to keep themselves in a playoff run. But before we get into that, before we talk playoffs, Steve, the Patriots' final play was not the only snafu in this game. They had several head-scratching moments that just did not seem to add up and really i think the first of which came at the end of the first half i mean a lot of people are going to say maybe they had them right up until but the one that really made me scratch my head was

Starting point is 00:09:36 the blocked punt by michael polardi the snap that came far too early no one was ready for this um you never see patriots special teamers coverage units punt return units kick return units coverage units whatever you're looking at these guys never make these types of mistakes how much of a surprise was it to you to see the half end that way especially when the patriots were looking like they were going to just kind of play out the string here and try to get the double score or if not at least be able to strike first in the third quarter to me that really was a that could have ended up a lot worse than it actually did yeah and you know again like you mentioned nobody was set and if if I'm correct in this, the two protectors, the up guys right there, they're supposed to relay to the long snapper when everyone's set.

Starting point is 00:10:35 Everyone's moving around. Jabril Peppers has back turned. And all of a sudden, Joe Cardona snaps the football. And, you know, they just had a jailbreak on Polardi, which that is not his fault on this one. And, again, it goes to coaching. I mean, we keep seeing them make these kind of mistakes. And, you know, I blame – I mean, are these players not able to, you know,

Starting point is 00:11:12 understand what their role is? I think it's coaching. And, you know, we've had this conversation last year with Cam Acord. And, you know, the special teams have kind of been, you you know up and down a little bit this year but that was I mean just a crucial killer mistake and you know it wasn't the only mistake they made I go back to the first quarter we can talk about that if you want to but this was a killer at the end of the half. I mean, you know, just handing them a touchdown with this was just stupid football. And you don't expect this from the Patriots, but we saw a lot of this today.

Starting point is 00:11:56 Yeah, we absolutely did. And ultimately, the Las Vegas Raiders walk away with a gift victory. I mean, and I'm not taking anything away from the Raiders. We probably have some Raiders fans that are listening to us tonight, trying to maybe absorb some Patriots fans' tears. Bottom line, the Las Vegas Raiders played a very good game on both sides of the ball in terms of being able to stay in it and fight through it to the end. I want to give Josh McDaniels an awful lot of credit for getting these guys ready. Yeah, did they play a perfect game?

Starting point is 00:12:22 Absolutely not. New England had more than enough opportunities to win this, but so did Las Vegas. And they capitalized on the turnovers. They capitalized on the difficulties that their opponents had, very similar to what we usually see from the New England Patriots. So not taking anything away from the Raiders' victory here, folks. It's more on the Patriots for being, I believe, ill-prepared

Starting point is 00:12:45 and maybe a little bit ill-timed in terms of the way they wanted to execute and just some of the decision-making that you see from this team just leaves you scratching your head. I know it's difficult to put you on the spot, my friend, but I'm going to do that. There's not a lot to smile about in Patriots Nation. Most of the fan base is rightfully

Starting point is 00:13:06 angry in this game, but is there silver linings that you can take away as a Patriots fan or from things that you've seen that lead you to believe that this team is solid in some fashion? They just need help in other areas. Well, I think one silver lining is I think Marcus Jones is turning into a great draft pick for them. I love the way he played today. I mean, and I don't blame him for those failures on that last drive. The coaches put him that far back. And, you know, I just think he's a great all-around football player. If you want to find a silver lining, he's definitely that. And I mean, Ramondre Stevenson had 172 yards rushing today. That's why I thought that whole fiasco at the end was so dumb. I mean, you know, at this point you tell your offensive coaches should be telling these guys, look, take what's there. We still have overtime. We can run on these guys. They have

Starting point is 00:14:14 to be getting tired. And, you know, we have more than a good shot to win this game in overtime. And I just, I mean, it's unfathomable. I don't know. There's not much silver linings tonight, I can tell you that. I think there needs to be massive changes here next year. Massive. Yeah, absolutely. Look, Mac Jones, another pedestrian performance. I don't think he played particularly poorly.

Starting point is 00:14:42 I don't think he played particularly well. I think there were a lot of circumstances that contributed to his struggles tonight. So I'm not going to come down on Mac. I will say that in the broadcast, because obviously you and I were watching the broadcast. We weren't in Las Vegas for this game. A lot was mentioned about his fire. A lot was mentioned about his emotion and the fact that he needs to keep his emotions in check. I think that's a little bit part of it, but also there has to be a level where Mac is comfortable

Starting point is 00:15:11 with the play calls that are going on and where the play callers are comfortable with giving the ball to Mac in certain situations. We heard Bill Belichick say that the reason why they didn't try a Hail Mary at the end of the game is because they didn't believe they could throw it that far. That sounds like a knock to the quarterback without question. Whereas if you take a look at where they were, Belichick's comments really do fall into line, folks. I don't think he was taking a shot at Mack by saying that. But you need to realize that there has to be a balance in quarterback play. And I think that's important moving forward.

Starting point is 00:15:41 In terms of defense, I thought Josh Uche, again, had a very good second half. And I want to give a little love to Kyle Duggar here as well, who really, I think, had the Patriots' play of the game. He read to a T, absolutely just played extremely well, read the receiver screen on Derek Carr, jumped it, made the interception. You take it to the house, and that all of a sudden gives the Patriots new life and he's had some flash plays this year uh that was really I think one of the most needed uh plays of his year this year and Kyle is definitely someone that is going to continue to pace that secondary and really be a force at the safety position so other than Marcus Jones like you said yeah I definitely want to give a little love to Kyle as well Steve we're almost ready to wrap things up here on this postcast episode, but not before

Starting point is 00:16:28 we take a look into our Belichickian-Balistrarian crystal ball at the Patriots road ahead, folks. And it's not going to be an easy one. They have three tough games coming up on this schedule, and it is not going to be pretty for the New England Patriots as they move forward. Can the Pats still make the playoffs? Steve and I are going to prognosticate that point in just a moment when this episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast continues. Today's show is sponsored by BetterHelp Therapy Online.

Starting point is 00:17:01 Folks, we live in complex times, and whether it be emotional stress, financial stress, or health-related stress, or even social anxiety, Trine Therapy can help you unload that stress and move forward in gaining emotional healing. Unfortunately, life does not come with a user manual, so when it's not working for you, it's normal to feel stuck. Everyone deserves to feel their best and better help makes it easier to get started. As the world's largest therapy service, they've matched millions of people with professionally licensed and vetted therapists available 100% online. They have all the benefits of in-person therapy, plus it's more convenient, more accessible, and more affordable. Just fill out a brief questionnaire

Starting point is 00:17:41 to match with a therapist and if things aren't clicking, you can easily switch to a new therapist anytime. It could not be simpler. So get unstuck with BetterHelp. Learn more and save 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com slash LockedOn. That's BetterHelp.com, H-E-L-P.com slash Locked On. Patriots fans, these days every new potential hire can feel like a high-stakes wager for your small business. You want to be 100%

Starting point is 00:18:13 certain that you have access to the best qualified candidates available, and that's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs helps to find the right people for your team to help you do it faster, and they even help you do it for free. Simple tools like screening questions, make it easy to focus on the candidates with just the right skills and experience. So you can quickly prioritize who you'd like to interview and hire. LinkedIn jobs helps you find

Starting point is 00:18:38 the qualified candidates you want to talk to, and they help you do it faster. So post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free terms and conditions apply. Patriots fans. Thank you again for taking time out of your schedule tonight, or first thing early Monday morning to join us here on this postcast episode of the locked on Patriots podcast. You're in a wing when Patriots fall to join us here on this postcast episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast.

Starting point is 00:19:07 Here in New England, Patriots fall to 7-7 on the season. And Steve, we've talked a little bit this time around about what the Patriots have done, what they've done to themselves, some of the inexplicable self-inflicted wounds that they've had to endure this year. And we've seen a lot of those with the Patriots more so than maybe any other Patriots team in recent memory but that does not change the fact that there are still three games left on the schedule and they're going to be tough matchups the Cincinnati Bengals come to town for a Christmas Eve matchup on

Starting point is 00:19:40 Saturday the Patriots have a New Year's Day matchup with the Miami Dolphins in Foxborough, and then they have to go up to the frozen tundra in Buffalo, and they have to take on the Bills to close out the season. Conventional wisdom will tell you that the Patriots are probably going to have to win out in order to have a shot at that final playoff spot, but not completely set in stone. The New England Patriots could still qualify. They're not mathematically eliminated. If this team is to contend this year, what do they have to do? Can they do it? And did today's loss to the Las Vegas Raiders put them in a hole that they simply can't climb out of? I think they're in a hole that they won't climb out of. This loss is not going to go away easily.

Starting point is 00:20:30 I think this one's going to stick with them. That is going to be a long, long plane ride home from Vegas tonight. You know, this was inexplicably lost. Call it what you want about the touchdown where the guy's foot was out, but the end of that game, there was absolutely no reason for it. They gave that game away, and I don't think – you know, at the two-minute warning, I was thinking they were going to go eight and six. They're going home, two-game win streak on the road.

Starting point is 00:21:11 They're going to face Cincinnati, and they're going to give it everything they got. I don't think that they're going to enter that game ready to play. I think this one's going to stick with them. I really do. I think that they can't climb out of this hole. Yeah, it's a quick turnaround. And look, I know, you know, you say, oh, okay, well, Sunday to Saturday, not that quick. It's not like Sunday to Thursday. That extra day counts. It really and truly does. And when a loss like this festers

Starting point is 00:21:40 under your skin, it does cause additional problems. We've seen that in post-game pressers that we covered tonight. Obviously, a lot of emotion from a lot of different sides. Mac Jones sounded frustrated. Bill Belichick sounded frustrated. The players sound frustrated and down. Jacoby Myers really taking a lot on his shoulders. I know he's going to get the lion's share of the blame for this. I still believe in Jacoby Myers and I still think he's one of the better players on this team, one of the harder workers. And unfortunately, just on the receiving end of a bad situation, but I think you hit the nail right on the head is that a loss like this compounds everything else that you see. And maybe because of the way the Patriots lost it, it's clouding everyone's vision as to why they lost it people are going to point to that call it was an egregious call I don't think

Starting point is 00:22:29 it was the correct one I don't buy Walt Anderson's explanation I'm sorry I don't you can clearly see Keelan Cole's toe on the line I think that that's well whatever I mean it's a family show so we'll leave it at that but it doesn't change the fact that on fourth down not just fourth down but routinely as you articulated just a few moments ago they could not get pressure on derrick carr to get that final stop in that final drive and allow that to continue and allow the raiders to march 81 yards if you're a playoff caliber team and if you're a team that wants to contend potentially for a Super Bowl, you have to make those stops.

Starting point is 00:23:09 You just have to do it. Even if you've been doing it all game long, you really need to make it in the final moments. And unfortunately, the Patriots just did not do that. Steve, any parting words of wisdom for our adoring public before we take our leave from tonight's episode and give way to the week here on Locked On Patriots? words of wisdom for our adoring public before we take our leave from tonight's episode and give way to the week here on Lockdown Patriots. Well, as I mentioned to a couple of my other

Starting point is 00:23:31 co-hosts that I do podcasts with, I think if I am Robert Kraft, as soon as that plane takes off, I'm sitting down with Bill and telling him we need to make massive changes this offseason. And it starts with your staff. You have to bring in outsiders. You have to. Because, I mean, this year they went into it with such a small staff. And as we've seen, it's turned into, I was going to use a cuss word. I'm sorry.

Starting point is 00:24:06 It turned into a horse bleep show. Okay. You know what I'm saying? I would have used one that involved the word cluster, but you know, that's. That was on the tip of my tongue too, but it's a family show. Absolutely. Yes, it is. But, you know, I've been one of the ones that have been so adamantly behind Bill on all this.

Starting point is 00:24:28 But if Bill puts his foot down and says that he's not going to bring in outsiders to the ownership, I start dialing the phone. And, I mean, I don't want to see Bill Belichick leave New England. But you can't have this. This is a poorly coached football team, and they've been making these mistakes. It wasn't just today. They've been making these mistakes for 14 games, and it's not getting better. It's getting worse.

Starting point is 00:25:00 And, you know, I get Sean Payton on speed dial. Yeah, I mean, who would have thought we'd be saying a poorly coached football team and a Bill Belichick coached football team in the same vein, yet here we are. I agree with you. Changes need to be made. We'll see if they're made this offseason. And, you know, the New England Patriots now are on to Cincinnati. And the last time the Patriots were on to Cincinnati, Bill was pretty angry as well.

Starting point is 00:25:25 So we'll see. We'll see what happens moving forward here, folks. But we will continue to break this down each and every day this week on Locked On Patriots, marching right up to Saturday's game. So please be sure to download, subscribe to, follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. And, of course, don't forget to smash that subscribe button on YouTube. We appreciate all of your support,

Starting point is 00:25:47 and we continue to look forward to bring you all of the information from Foxborough each and every day this week. On behalf of my good friend, my Patriots bison, taking time out post-game to join me here on this post-cast episode, Steve Balistrieri of Patsfans.com. You will not find a finer writer and a finer gentleman to follow I encourage you to do so on Twitter at SteveB7SFG

Starting point is 00:26:09 but until next time we'll continue to move onward and upward but folks don't worry tomorrow here on Locked On Patriots Monday our man Murph will be here and you know he's going to be a little angry to hit the microphone if you think we were a little animated,

Starting point is 00:26:26 just wait until tomorrow's episode. But all kidding aside, folks, thank you so much for joining us and for making Lockdown Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. On behalf of the great Steve Balistrieri, I'm Mike DeBate. Stay safe and stay well. Be the change you wish to see in the world.

Starting point is 00:26:42 Have a great day, everyone. And the sun will come up tomorrow.

Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - POSTCAST — New England Patriots Fall to Las Vegas Raiders 30-24: Shock and Awful

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.