Did New England Patriots' Latest Loss Come Down to Final Drive?

A heartbreaking finale from Mac Jones and JuJu Smith-Schuster defined the day but the New England Patriots lost Sunday's tilt with the Washington Commanders long before that last drive.

The New England Patriots' latest Sunday disaster will be defined by eight seconds, namely those that passed when the ball went from the hand of Mac Jones, through the grasp of JuJu Smith-Schuster, and into the waiting arms of Jartavius Martin of the Washington Commanders. 

The rookie's interception sealed New England's losing fate for the seventh time in nine games, as their 20-17 defeat dragged them further away from the gridiron light. No one among the Foxborough faithful had any ludicrous notions of staging a late playoff push, but this latest defeat, coming against a Washington group that just traded away two of its defensive cornerstones, carried a new sense of embarrassment despite a mostly valiant effort in an interconference clash. 

NFL football games, of course, last 3,600 seconds. Perhaps trying to absolve his beleaguered offensive couple, Patriots captain and longtime center David Andrews felt that the ill-timed interception was simply a coda to a tale of careless mistakes.

"I stood up here and say it, and I believe it, that’s why I say it: it’s on us,” Andrews said per the Boston Globe. “We had opportunities, not just in the two-minute, we had opportunities to make a play, make an impact, and we didn’t really do that."

To Andrews' point, New England (2-7) had plenty of opportunities to reward the brave, bold souls that ventured out to Gillette Stadium on Sunday: part of the panic of the final drive stemmed from time constraints brought about by Mack Wilson's offsides penalty on a Washington punt. Another penalty on a punt, Brendan Schooler's holding call (the latter of two infractions against the special teams ace), forced them to start the would-be equalizer/winner in the shadow of their own goal line. 

The Patriots saw a Sunday visit from the Washington Commanders slip for their ... and JuJu Smith-Schuster's ... grasp / Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Defensively, the Patriots built an early lead off the momentum of two turnovers (Jahlani Tavai's forced fumble of Brian Robinson and a Kyle Dugger interception) that led to short field and quick drives. They were unable, however, to capitalize on several other opportunities or able to seal the deal: the Commanders (4-5) converted 9-of-17 third down attempts, including a game-changing advancement on a 23-yarder, the necessary tally plus one accumulated on one Sam Howell scramble.

The defense's failure to get off the field (Washington held the ball for over 37 minutes on Sunday) stalled any rhythm the offense was hoping to generate. Despite some genuine steps in the right direction (Demario Douglas' continued offensive takeover, Rhamondre Stevenson's career-long scoring rush), the unit was kept off the board with the exception of a field goal drive to open the latter half-hour. Each New England possession in the second half started at their own 25-yard-line or worse.

Defensive lineman Deatrich Wise said that those plays and more shattered the one pillar the Patriots have made for themselves as they play out the stretch of this lost season.

“We know where we’re messing up, and we know we’re beating ourselves,” Wise said. “Most of the games that we play, it’s a lot of things that we’re doing wrong, and we’re not capitalizing on the opportunities we have. Our goal is to not beat ourselves.

“It’s more of a learning process, what’s mostly frustrating is losing, that’s the main thing. At the same time, we have a (sliver) of motivation because we know if we just eliminate certain plays we’ll be able to turn games around.”

The Patriots' next effort to make things right will come overseas as they face the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt next Sunday (9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network). 

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