Tom Brady’s Homecoming game at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night was everything we expected it to be, unless you’re a fan of the New England Patriots, of course.
Despite a good performance from the rookie quarterback, Mac Jones, Bill Belichick and company fell to the best in history and the defending champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, from 19 to 17, in a tough and entertaining battle.
The Patriots had a chance to take the lead with less than a minute to go, but Nick Folk’s 56-yard field goal attempt hit the right post, dooming New England.
After the game, the NFL’s Twitter was filled with reactions.
Belichick was criticized after the game
Author Aaron Gouveia was dispatched to Belichick for his decision to kick such a long field goal to Folk, who was recovering from a leg injury that he does not use to kick.
Also, are we going to pretend that Bill Belichick opting for a 55 yard field goal with a hurt kicker instead of going for it on 4th & 3 wasn’t a MASSIVE mistake? #Patriots
— Get the shot. Wear the mask. (@DaddyFiles) October 4, 2021
Belichick did not hesitate for a moment in deciding to kick the long field goal, despite Folk’s injury and the rain. The Patriots could have tried to gamble at 4th and 3, but instead of taking a chance, they chose to kick the missed field goal.
Lavonte David also deserves to be congratulated as Jones’ pass deflection on third down led to the fourth down. It was a great play that is not being taken into account.
CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones defended Belichick’s decision to kick the field goal.
https://twitter.com/jjones9/status/1444875446026440704?s=20
Jones lived up to Brady
Ryan Spagnoli of Pat’s Pulpit praised Jones’ performance. He acknowledged that although it was a tough loss, Jones’ performance and the defense generated optimism.
Mac Jones just went toe-to-toe in the pouring rain with Tom Brady and came 6 inches from taking home a W. Tough loss, the #Patriots aren’t there yet (may be a year or two away) but you walk away from that game extremely excited about the future at the quarterback position.
— Ryan Spagnoli (@Ryan_Spags) October 4, 2021
This may be the most accurate opinion of the night. Virtually no one expected the Patriots to stay this close to the Bucs Sunday night. That they did is a testament to his defense, which limited Brady to 269 yards through the air and no touchdown passes, and Jones, who played how well you can expect from a rookie.
The Patriots are 1-3, but the foundations are present.
The Patriots’ pass defense was brilliant, but not so much against the running game.
Gridiron Express ‘Doug Moore praised the Patriots’ defense, especially against the passing game.
The #Patriots defense played really well, all things considered. They gave up only one touchdown & really limited the Bucs passing game. Brady completed just over 50% of his passes.
Judon & Barmore are going to be fun to watch (amongst others) on that defense for years to come.
— Doug Moore (@DMooreNFL) October 4, 2021
The Patriots defense didn’t fare so well against the running game. While it seemed like a lot of effort went into curbing Brady and the Bucs’ passing game, Tampa Bay – like New England’s previous rivals this season – did damage on the ground.
Tampa Bay racked up 119 rushing yards and a touchdown, including 90 yards from Leonard Fournette.
The Patriots received a “star” despite the loss.
Overall, NBC Sports ‘Tom E. Curran was pleasantly surprised by the Patriots’ overall performance. He awarded them with a “star”.
Maybe my bar is too low and a team that spent so much to rebuild this team shouldn’t be getting gold stars for coming close. But compared to how they’d been playing and projections for tonight … I’m still giving that gold star. https://t.co/k3xMkeHjj8
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) October 4, 2021
This according to this assessment. It’s hard to get excited about a team that’s 1-3, but I honestly think they should be at least 2-2, and with an extra yard last Sunday, even 3-1.
This is the original version of Heavy.com
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