Every year, there are teams that disappoint and do not live up to expectations. After going to the playoffs with a rookie quarterback in 2021, the New England Patriots offense regressed without Josh McDaniels in 2022. I thought the offense would be a bit of a downgrade but as you can see below, it took a big dip in production (per teamrankings.com).
Bill Belichick saw the error of his ways and is bringing in a true offensive coordinator in Bill O'Brien. Let’s look at what that means for the Patriots’ offense moving forward.
2021 Season
After finishing the 2020 season with a losing record, New England decided to move on from Cam Newton and drafted Mac Jones from Alabama. It did not seem like the weapons were in place for Jones to have a successful rookie season.
Chart Courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
As you can see, most of the receiving numbers were not very impressive. Only two receivers were over 800 yards and only one had over 50 yards per game. That said, the scheme by McDaniels helped use the strengths of each player and put Jones in a good position to succeed. In his rookie season, he led the team to the playoffs and threw for 3,800 yards and 22 touchdowns.
2022 Season
