FOXBOROUGH, Mass — Nothing could go right for the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon. And that, combined with some of the worst play of the season, handed New England an embarrassing 45-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Let's just get right into the takeaways:
1. A game to forget for Christian Gonzalez
After the game, head coach Mike Vrabel did not mince words when asked about the star cornerback's play.
"When your best players don't play good, you don't have much of a chance," he said. "So we expect more. He expects more."
Gonzalez finished the game allowing 10 receptions on 11 targets for 187 yards and one touchdown, per PFF, with 50.3 percent of Jordan Love's 372 yards coming while Gonzalez was in coverage. And it was Packers receivers Matthew Golden and Christian Watson who were
running circles around Gonzalez.
“I want to be who I am for the team, and everybody that knows what I am," Gonzalez said. "But, it’s football. I’m going to have a bad game, so this profession. So, it’s the same as I come up here week in, week out. If it’s a good game, I say, “All right. We move on.” It’s just like that. You’ve said that multiple times. You have a good play, watch it, bad play, watch it, good game, watch it, bad game, watch it. So, there are things I messed up on, and I’ll be back to it next week.”
2. A HORRIBLE start
That certainly wasn't how the Patriots wanted to start this one. After an illegal shift on the first play of the drive, that was ultimately declined after Rhamondre Stevenson only got one yard on the play; Drake Maye threw it right into the hands of Packers safety Xavier McKinney while targeting Mack Hollins.
"I’m disappointed in myself for, you can’t put the team in the hole straight off the bat, first possession, first half," Maye said after the game. "I feel like, in the times we had chances to get back into the game, I messed them up, and we had chances to put us back within three points multiple times, and just frustrating."
Two plays later, Love used his legs and ran it in for a 13-yard score, giving Green Bay an early lead.
It continued to get worse from there, as the offense went three-and-out on their following drive, with Maye getting sacked on third down. Mitch Wishnowsky pinned the Packers to their own 14, but they charged down the field once again, aided by two massive pick-ups by Matthew Golden: one for 16 yards and another for 49 yards.
On the long pass, Golden was uncovered as it looked like a miscommunication between Christian Gonzalez and Kevin Byard, with Byard realizing Golden was open just a little too late, as the receiver already had a step on the defensive backs. Shortly after, Gonzalez appeared to have made a diving grab, intercepting Love, but that was called back as the cornerback was flagged for defensive pass interference. From there, Love hit Golden again, but this time for a five-yard touchdown, giving the Packers a 14-0 lead.
3. More bad injury luck
At the end of the first half, the Patriots saw two players go down, with cornerback Carlton Davis gingerly walking off the field, while left guard Ben Brown also had to be helped off the field.
Then, in the third quarter, Maye hit Stevenson for a short completion, but the running back remained down on the ground for a period of time after the play. He got up and jogged off the field, but then went into the blue medical tent before departing for the locker room for further evaluation. It was announced that he had a knee injury and was immediately ruled OUT.
"He wasn’t able to return, so I have to get," Vrabel said of Stevenson. "I’m not sure the extent of what it is. It just came off, so we’ll take a look at it, and we’ll see. I don’t want to speculate right now."
Left tackle Will Campbell also wasn't able to finish the game but told reporters he was "good" after the game, adding that had it been closer, he likely would have pushed to return.
4. Packers take advantage of Carlton Davis' injury
Coming out of the half, the Packers put together a seven-play scoring drive that took advantage of one key weakness the Patriots were dealing with. Davis departed the field with a knee injury before the first half was over and wasn't out there to start the third quarter.
On the drive, Jordan Love picked on rookie Karon Prunty, who replaced Davis and had massive success, hitting Watson for a gain of nine yards followed by one for 28 yards. And then, he threw the ball to Savion Williams, who was being covered by Prunty, for a 10-yard touchdown, bringing Green Bay's lead to 31-14.
5. More turnovers
Another turnover came in the third quarter, when Rhamondre Stevenson coughed up the football, and the Packers recovered the fumble. And from there, it just took the Packers six seconds, with Jordan Love hitting Christian Watson for a 39-yard touchdown. Green Bay kept the offense out, going for two, and Love took it himself, easily running it in to make it a four-touchdown lead.
The Patriots finished the game with four total turnovers: three interceptions and one fumble.
"We haven’t had a clean, turnover-free game yet," Maye said. "It’s, starting with me, it’s one of the biggest differences between winning and losing football games."
6. Tommy DeVito takes over
With over six minutes remaining in the game, the Patriots pulled Maye. The quarterback finished the game going 21-of-38 for 299 yards and three touchdowns, along with three interceptions.
"I got to do a better job from a whole perspective, communication, doing the little things right, and I just, I wasn’t good," said Maye. "I wasn’t good today. And we got to bounce back, and we’re on a far flight, but we got to bounce back and know that there’s still some games left and we’re battling. We’ve got to battle. I think that’s just, that’s it."
As for DeVito, he went 3-of-1 for 21 yards.
7. The boos come out
As the end of the first quarter hit, Patriots fans were furious with the team's performance and let them hear it. The first frame ended with a 43-yard completion from Love to Golden, bringing the receiver's total up to six catches for 126 yards in only the first 15 minutes.
It was the first time this season the Patriots had been booed by their home fans, which isn't a great sign as this is the team's last home game until the beginning of December.
However, the defense came out from the break swinging, with Elijah Ponder getting home for a nine-yard sack on third down, forcing Green Bay to settle for just three points as Trey Smack hit the 41-yard field goal.
8. Some bad luck for Kyle Williams, but it does get better for the Patriots
For the second time in the game, Maye tried to target Williams deep, but instead of this one just falling incomplete, the pass was defended by safety Evan Williams, with cornerback Brandon Cisse making an incredible snag and getting two feet down before falling out of bounds.
However, the defense came up big, with the help of an eight-yard sack by Christian Barmore, forcing the Packers to punt. Once Maye had the ball back in his hands, the Patriots hit two explosive plays to put themselves right back in it. First, the quarterback found a wide-open DeMario Douglas, picking up 36 yards. And then, Maye located Rhamondre Stevenson on the run for a 30-yard touchdown. Instead of a 17-point deficit, the Patriots were only down by 10 with over nine minutes remaining in the second quarter.
9. Xavier McKinney couldn't be stopped
McKinney added another interception before the first half concluded, jumping the route after Maye tried to hit tight end Eli Raridon over the middle. It was an easy pick for the safety, with Maye giving his throw away as he stared at it for too long.
And the Packers capitalized, with Love throwing to Watson for a 43-yard completion, putting the ball inside the Patriots' five-yard line. Carlton Davis was flagged for defensive pass interference, but it was declined. However, Vrabel made the decision to challenge the ruling of a completed pass, as it looked like Watson might not have had full control of the ball. The result: the ruling on the field stands, and the Packers punched it in on the next play, with Kaleb Johnson recording a two-yard rushing score.
However, New England came out and responded quickly. Maye hit Eli Raridon for a 28-yard pick-up, and Stevenson also helped get them down the field with a nice 19-yard run. The Patriots star quarterback capped off the drive by hitting Efton Chism for an eight-yard score and bringing them back within 10.
10. Celebrating the 2016 Super Bowl team and Rob Gronkowski honored at halftime
Prior to the game, members of the 2016 Super Bowl team took the field, as two giant banners sat on the field. Patriots fans will never forget the 28-3 score, as that was how much Atlanta was leading at halftime. But New England came back swinging, winning Super Bowl LI 34-28. Among those who returned were Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, David Andrews, James White, and so many more.
At halftime, Gronkowski came back out as the team held a mini-ceremony for him after inducting him into the Patriots Hall of Fame just one day prior.
But with all of this going on, it raised one important question for the current members of the team: did it serve as a distraction?
"No, I wouldn’t say that," Maye explained. "I don’t think any of the team had some players from the reunion around at practice on Friday, and you say, ’What’s up?’ and then there’s nothing the players were mandatory obliged to go to or attend. We were focused on the Packers, and I don’t think there’s really a correlation."
11. Other notes
- Highlighting Some Pregame Outfits: Mack Hollins arrived at the stadium dressed up as "Return of the Mack." Efton Chism celebrated his best friend's return to the field, wearing a "Mack & Chiz" shirt. Lastly, DeMario Douglas celebrated the Golden State Valkyries' WNBA title by showing up in a Veronica Burton jersey.
- Karon Prunty had a stellar special teams play in the opening frame, running down and helping keep Mitch Wishnowsky's 50-yard punt from going into the end zone, instead pinning the Packers on their own two-yard line.
- Following Rhamondre Stevenson's touchdown in the second quarter, he, along with DeMario Douglas and Mack Hollins, recreated an iconic celebration by LeGarrette Blount, where he posed with members of the Militia.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: 11 takeaways from Patriots' embarrassing 45-27 loss to the Packers
