The New England Patriots are stopped short yet again as they lose to the Washington Commanders 20-17 on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

After suffering an early 10-0 deficit, the New England Patriots would go on a 14-0 run to take the lead in the 2^nd quarter. Washington would look to respond late in the 1^st half, but a Kyle Dugger interception would stop them short and help New England take a 14-10 lead into the half.

New England would come out of the half looking to score but would have to settle for a field goal after the Commanders forced back-to-back pass incompletions.

Following the Patriots score, Sam Howell would throw a 33-yard touchdown to Jahan Dotson to tie the game. Washington then forced New England to punt, which led to a Commanders field goal to retake the lead 20-17 in the 3^rd quarter.

Both teams would trade six punts, with the last giving the Patriots an opportunity to win or tie the game late in the 4^th. After marching 50 yards down field and inching into field goal range, Mac Jones threw an interception after the ball bounced off Juju Smith-Schuster’s hands. The Commanders then kneeled the ball to secure their 4^th win of the season.

With this loss, the Patriots move to 2-7 on the season and are 0-4 against NFC opponents.

Downward Spiraling Offense

The New England offense continues to struggle as they fail to score at least 20 points for the 7^th time this season. Though the Patriots gained 327 total yards, they had eight drives ending with either a punt or turnover against the Commanders.

“It’s on us. We had opportunities,” said David Andrews. “Opportunities to make a play, make an impact and we just didn’t really do that. You got to look in the mirror and get back to work”.

Quarterback, Mac Jones, had yet another inconsistent showing against Washington. He threw for 220 yards on 24/44 passing with a TD and interception. This comes after his 161 yards, 2 TDs, and an interception performance last week in Miami.

“It’s tough, I think the biggest thing is remaining confident in yourself,” said Jones. “I have no regrets. I do need to do things better, but I’m always going to work hard and put in the hours”.

Even with New England’s offense struggles, they had an opportunity to win the game late, but late game blunders continue to haunt the Patriots. This week, Jones threw an interception with 30 seconds left in the game after the football hit Juju Smith-Schuster directly in the hands.

“Middle of the field was open, I had an in cut. It was a good ball, and it went through my hands,” said Smith-Schuster. “It’s all on me. [Jones] put the ball in a good position. I just got to make the catch”.

Though the Patriots’ offensive unit has been riddled with problems, Demario Douglas and Rhamondre Stevenson continue to make positive impacts. Douglas recorded 5 receptions for 55 yards, while Stevenson rushed for 87 yards on 9 carries for a TD.

Defense Struggle to Get Off the Field

Last week, the Patriots defense had issues late down conversion allowing the Dolphins to go 5-14 on 3^rd down and 3-3 on 4^th down. This week against the Commanders, those issues remained prevalent. Washington went 9-17 on 3^rd down conversions, which included a Sam Howell scramble for 24 yards on 3^rd and 23.

“When we let the quarterback out of the pocket then that’s what they’re going to do,” said head coach Bill Belichick. “We kept [Howell] in the pocket a lot, but there were times when he got out. That’s not a good thing”.

Getting pressure on the QB and completing tackles were also major flaws in the Patriots’ defense this week. Though Sam Howell was sacked three times, he threw for 325 yards on 29/45 passing for a TD and interception.

Washington was also able to earn 124 rushing yards with a rushing touchdown between Brian Robinson Jr, Antonio Gibson, and Sam Howell.

“I think defensively we had our moments, but overall there are a lot of things we need to do better,” said Belichick.

The New England defense was able to create turnovers, as Jahlani Tavai forced a fumble and Kyle Dugger caught an interception. Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jabrill Peppers also made several big plays, as Bentley added 13 total tackles with 2 sacks and Peppers compiled 3 tackles with 2 pass deflections.

Up Next

Next week the New England Patriots travel to Germany to take on the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Washington Commanders travel to Seattle to battle the Seahawks on Sunday.