Patriots' O'Brien on Offense: 'We're Inconsistent!'

New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien likes some of what he's seen from the offense, but inconsistency has become a major issue.

Through two games, the New England Patriots' new-look offense has had some ups, but a lot of downs.

On one hand, Bill O'Brien's unit looks markedly better than the disaster it was last year under Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. The offense has been able to move the ball reasonably well, and quarterback Mac Jones has played much better than he did last season.

On the other hand, many of the same issues still persist. Namely, the Patriots have struggled to finish drives, with their average of 1.58 points per possession ranking No. 24 in the league. Turnovers have also been an issue, as New England has committed four of them in two games. Finally, the run game has also been dreadful with an average of 82 yards per game, sixth-worst in the NFL.

So while O'Brien has seen some things to like from his offense, there's still plenty of room for improvement.

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“For us, I think it’s about finishing drives,” O’Brien told The Boston Herald. “I think we moved the ball at times, I’m not saying we moved the ball all the time, but we moved the ball at times. But we’re inconsistent. We have to coach it better and try to get to be more consistent and finish drives. We get in there and we drive the ball 30-40 yards and then we stall, so we have to do a better job of stringing plays together to be able to finish drives.”

It doesn't help that the Patriots have started slow in both games so far. They fell behind 16-0 against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, then 10-0 and eventually 17-3 against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2. The offense has looked better after falling behind, but that's not a position anyone wants to be in.

“The start of the games, we’ve moved the ball and something’s happened, whether it was a pick six or a sack like what happened the past weekend,” O’Brien said. “I do think we have the right idea when it comes to opening these games, but again, we have to be able to string the plays along so that we can come down and get points and not stall around midfield."

Bouncing back from an 0-2 start won't be easy for the Patriots' offense, as they now travel to face the New York Jets' ferocious defense in a key divisional game.