From Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmores scuffle with DK Metcalf throughout the 3rd quarter, to head coach Bill Belichicks decision not to call a timeout in the last 29 seconds of the game, the video game was on the line (the one lawn line, to be precise) when quarterback Cam Newton discovered himself wanting to run it in for a touchdown.
” Its too early to inform simply what this loss to Seattle foretold, however the Patriots know more about themselves than they did when they got on the aircraft to the Pacific Northwest on Friday afternoon,” wrote NBC Sports Bostons Tom E Curran. “Just as recentlys win against Miami was graded on the curve as being, well, fine. A start. Great but not trigger to break out the sheetcake in the breakroom. Todays loss requires to be graded on the curve …
Regardless of a valiant effort by Newton, he was “packed” by a strong Seahawks defense at the goal line, leading to 30-35 loss for the Patriots. Newton was critical of himself after the video game, including that the Patriots have the potential to be an actually great group however simply “fell short” to an opponent that came ready to complete.
The general agreement among professionals, however, is that the Seahawks brought the heat and Sundays loss was a mentor minute for the Patriots, both offensively and defensively.
The Patriots got lit up on the ground (Seattle rolled up 154 yards hurrying) and thats something theyll require to fortify in a rush … But the building obstructs seem in place for them to get better there.”
Seattle and New England win finest drama. Again.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 21, 2020
” They enjoy film, they most likely [saw] us recently have a lot of success in the run game, and they had a strategy,” Newton stated. “Make no mistake about it, the Seattle Seahawks [are] a fantastic football team. We are a great football group too, and it was great for us to sort of see where we sort of fared out and we just fell short.”
The Patriots-Seahawks rivalry has constantly been a remarkable one, and Sundays matchup was a testimony to that.
Heres what other NFL experts are stating:
Chad Finn, Boston.com: “If you absolutely need to have something to fret about today, the Patriots defense has some locations of concern. The Seahawks, who do not exactly have a Shaun Alexander or Curt Warner in their backfield nowadays, averaged 5.1 yards per rush, getting 154 lawns on the ground. Thats not going to get it done. Im less alarmed by the five touchdown passes Russell Wilson dropped on them thinking about at least 3 of them began throws maybe a couple of other quarterbacks in the league can make. The Patriots didnt even hold the Seahawks to a three-and-out up until early in the 4th quarter.”
” What was most worrying about the loss? All week long, Belichick preached about Wilsons success, particularly his efficiency in tossing the deep ball. Theres no one much better.
” Did they pass the base test? Not quite, but lets just state losing doesnt cast a pall on the season. There were plenty of motivating indications during the nail-biting 35-30 loss at a fan-less CenturyLink Field. The gap between the Patriots and the Seahawks has been established. And its not much.
” And even versus the Patriots vaunted secondary, with all the cautions delivered about what Wilson does best, the Seahawks quarterback still struck the long ball– and it cost the Patriots.”
” Imagine the reaction if someone not considered the best coach of all time had actually done something like this. Think of the reaction if somebody not related to as the biggest coach of all time discussed the failure to call timeout with 22 seconds of saying absolutely nothing besides, Yeah, well.
” I stated really early on when he was signed that this offense could be better if Cam Newton was healthy than they would have been with Tom Brady, and thats exactly what we saw last night. It was time to make a play, and they put the ball in Cam Newtons hands.
Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk: “Because the Patriots ultimately had a chance to win the game with a last play from the Seattle one, the decision to not call the timeout will draw less attention than it would have. Because Bill Belichick is the coach who stopped working to call the timeout, the decision to not call the timeout undoubtedly will draw less criticism and scrutiny.
Newton moved the ball with relative ease when the Patriots busted the brakes off the offense …
Ryan Clark, ESPN: “I felt like I hopped in the DeLorean and we were in the second half of 2015 when these 2 men [Newton and Wilson] were the very best 2 quarterbacks on earth and Cam wound up winning the MVP … This is what everybody said: Can Cam Newton create some sort of passing game, not just down the field but outside the numbers with these weapons that the New England Patriots have?”
” Josh McDaniels, Bill Belichick– theyve never had a guy like this. Theyve never had Superman. So you know what they did? They played the damsel in distress and said, Come conserve me and they gave the ball to Cam. And I have no concern with that. The New England Patriots are going to be all right since Superman has actually returned.”
” But the reality of the scenario is that the Patriots had one-man goal-line trashing team at quarterback. They had a play that hadnt yet failed. However they were out-executed at the moment of truth.”
” It wasnt a typical Patriots defensive common, whether efficiency was Stephon Gilmore, who gave up a 54-yard touchdown reception to Goal Metcalf, or Jason McCourty, who was in coverage for touchdown protection by Tyler Lockett and David Moore, or just a large-scale fundamental breakdown during Freddie Swains easy 21-yard touchdown reception. Wilson, who was struck hard on 3 of his goal passes, kept making plays to keep the pressure on Newton and the Patriots throughout the night …
Phil Perry, NBC Sports Boston: “Could the Patriots have trotted out a different package of players onto the field for that do-or-die minute? Could they have called for a pass from that heavy set the method they did earlier in the game?
Karen Guregian, Boston Herald: “Given the Dolphins are rebuilding, and the Seahawks are a well-established team, with a quarterback in Russell Wilson who Bill Belichick essentially called the finest gamer in the game, this outing exposed more substantial intel on the Patriots.
” Its difficult to know whether using the timeout would have resulted in a win. However, most coaches would gladly take first and 10 from the 13 with 29 seconds on the clock and no timeouts over very first and 10 from the 13 with 9 seconds and one timeout. Belichick might have had the previous, he opted for the latter, and the truth that all he could say in response was yeah, well is the closest hell ever come to confessing an error.”
” When given the chance offered open opportunity up, Newton flew up and down the field against a talented Seahawks defenseGifted
” It wasnt a typical Patriots defensive normal, whether it was Stephon Gilmore, who gave up a 54-yard touchdown reception to DK Metcalf, or Jason McCourty, who was in coverage for touchdown catches by Tyler Lockett and David Moore, or just a large-scale simply breakdown during Freddie SwainThroughout easy 21-yard touchdown simple. Wilson, who was struck hard on 3 of his goal passes, kept making plays to keep the pressure on Newton and the Patriots throughout the night …
The Patriots didnt even hold the Seahawks to a three-and-out up until early in the fourth quarter.”
” Harry played his best video game as a pro against the Seahawks, completing with eight catches for 72 yards. Not a bad efficiency when you consider he opened his night by almost getting decapitated.”
” Perhaps the biggest development was that Harry, the Patriots 2019 first-round draft choice, appeared like hes ready to bloom playing with Cam Newton after investing last year in Bradys dog house.
Jeff Howe, The Athletic: “It was a testimony to Newton that the Patriots even had a chance at the end, so that has to be motivating from a more comprehensive point of view. Newton moved the ball with relative ease when the Patriots busted the brakes off the offense …
” And now that theyve seen him do it, the Patriots have a much better understanding of just how much weight they can put on Newtons shoulders.”
” The results might not have actually constantly been pretty– the Patriots turned the football over when and at the end of the day scored just three offensive goals– but Newton and business played some excellent complimentary football, particularly with the video game on the line. Along the method, he revealed some solid chemistry with his pass catchers as well.”
” When given the chance provided open it up, Newton flew up and down the field against a talented Seahawks defenseGifted Bernd Buchmasser, SB Nations Pats Pulpit: “This process of “figuring it out” might have been born out of necessity given how the game went, but it did reveal that Newton and the Patriots offense are definitely capable of playing a various video game than last weeks.
Eric Rueb, Providence Journal: “Looks like NKeal Harry isnt almost as bad as Tom Brady made everybody believe he was. Sundays 35-30 loss to Seattle still injures in the standings, but a lot of excellent came out of it for the New England Patriots.
Bernd Buchmasser, SB Nations Pats Pulpit: “This process of “figuring it out” may have been substantiated of need provided how the game went, however it did show that Newton and the Patriots offense are certainly capable of playing a different game than last weeks. For one, they actively stretched the field: New England had 13 pass plays of more than 15 yards versus the Seahawks, after having just three of them versus Miami one week before. The team also attempted to go up-tempo in order to make life hard for Seattles defense.
