Pats PostGame Notebook: TB12 + DC = 5-0

Patriots QB #12 Tom Brady tries to avoid the Redskins pass rush (Photo courtesy of NESN)

Ryan L. Fox

Another week, another winless opponent on the schedule. This time, the New England Patriots traveled down to Washington D.C. to FedEx Field to face off against the winless Washington Redskins of the NFC East. This would be the first of two games the Patriots would be playing in this week (they have the Thursday night game at home) so one would imagine the Patriots wouldn’t step on the gas against the Redskins.
 
But that isn’t the Patriots way.
 
Instead it was another blowout victory.

Game Recap
The Redskins opened up the game by winning the coin toss and electing to receive to start the 1st half.
 
They began the game at their own 25. They opened up the drive with a 12-yard catch and run from QB Colt McCoy to WR Terry McLaurin to the Washington 37. But the Patriots defense were able to smother the Redskins, forcing a punt.
 
The Patriots got the ball on their own 16 as QB Tom Brady and the offense took the field.
 
It seemed like the Patriots were ready to blow the game wide open following as the offense was able to move the ball almost with ease up to the New England 38. However, the offense then stalled out, including Brady getting sacked back to the New England 28, and were forced to punt.
 
The Redskins got the ball on their own 33 for their second possession of the game. They opened up with a 2-yard run by RB Adrian Peterson to the Washington 35. Then on 2nd and 8, the Redskins ran an end around with WR Steve Sims Jr. It looked like Sims was gonna be stopped for a 10+ yard gain but was able to slip through a tackle by Patriots CB Jason McCourty and outran the Patriots defense for a 65-yard touchdown. K Dustin Hopkins booted the PAT through as the Redskins lead with 9:27 left in the 1st quarter.
 
The Patriots got the ball back on their own 25 following the kickoff as Brady and the offense went to work. After a run for no gain by RB Sony Michel, Brady found TE Ryan Izzo for a 29-yard pass to the Washington 46, then TE Matt LaCosse for a 22-yard pass to the Washington 24, and then a 15-yard pass to Michel down to the Washington 9. After a 3-yard run by Michel on 1st and goal, the Patriots were faced with 2nd and goal at the Washington 6. Brady then found WR Julian Edelman over the middle for the touchdown. Newly acquired K Mike Nugent then came onto the field for the PAT. Unfortunately, Nugent hooked it wide right as the Redskins still lead 7-6.
 
After forcing a Redskins punt, the Patriots got the ball on their own 43. After a sack back to their own, Brady found WR Josh Gordon for a 24-yard pass to the Washington 43 on 2nd and 20. Brady then peppered the Redskins defense as the offense was able to move down the field. They got down as far as the Redskins 25 but got back up to the 30 due to a false start on Edelman. On 3rd and 9, Brady found Gordon over the middle for what appeared to be a 1st down. The Redskins ended up challenging the spot and upon further review, Gordon was 1 yard short. On 4th and 1, the Patriots decided to go for it but RB James White was stuffed in the back field for a 2 yard loss.
 
The Redskins got the ball back on their own 24 and seemed to have some moderate success moving the ball. They were able to move all the way to their 45 as the 1st quarter came to an end.
 
When the 2nd quarter began, the Redskins offense got pushed back on back-to-back plays by the Patriots defense and were forced to punt as P Tress Way booted the ball into the endzone.
 
The Patriots were able to get the ball back on their own 20 as the offense came back onto the field. They were able to drive down the field, including being aided by a 40-yard pass interference on Redskins SS Montae Nicholson, as they faced 1st and 10 on the Washington 27. However, Brady missed on 2 straight completions and his pass to RB James White was only just for 8-yards down to the Washington 19. The Patriots had to settle for a field goal as Nugent came onto the field, booting a 37-yard field goal to give his team their first lead of the game 9-7 with 10:34 left in the half.
 
Then for a majority of the 2nd quarter, each team continued to exchange the ball with one another. This also included a sequence where the Redskins fumbled the ball on their own 16 (recovered by LB Jamie Collins) and then Brady threw another red zone interception at the Washington 1 (SS Montae Nicholson came up with the ball).
 
With under a minute left in the half, the Patriots got the ball back at the Washington 11 thanks to an interception by CB Jason McCourty. After a 6-yard pass to WR Jakobi Meyers, Brady was heavily pressured by the Redskins defense and ended up throwing the ball away on back-to-back plays. The Patriots ended up settling for a 23-yard field goal by Nugent to push their lead to 12-7 with 30 seconds left in the half.
 
The Redskins elected to run the clock out as both teams went into halftime, with the score being 12-7 in favor of the visiting Patriots.
 
The Patriots opened up the 2nd half by getting the kickoff and starting the ball at their own 25. After two consecutive run plays, Brady found White for a 21-yard catch and run to the Washington 49. After three consecutive run plays, the Patriots were faced with 2nd and 6 at the Washington 29. There, Brady found RB Brandon Bolden deep along the right side for a 29-yard touchdown pass. Nugent booted the PAT through as the Patriots extended their lead to 19-7 with 10:57 left in the 3rd quarter.
 
After forcing another Redskins punt, the Patriots got the ball back on their own 12. They ended up driving 88 yards for the score, a touchdown run by Michel as Nugent’s PAT made it 26-7 with a little over For the drive, it seemed like it was the Michel-Edelman show as Edelman contributed 46 yards (on 2 catches) while Michel contributed 39 yards (on 3 carries) of his own on that drive, including the 14-yard touchdown run that capped the drive off.
 
The teams then proceeded to exchange punts through the end of the 3rd quarter and into the 4th quarter.
 
The Patriots got the ball on their own 42 with 13:22 left in the 4th quarter. They then went to the ground game for the majority of the drive as White and Michel pounded the Redskins defense. They got all the way down to the Washington 10 where on 3rd and 4, Brady found Izzo wide open in the back of the endzone for the touchdown. Nugent booted the PAT through as the Patriots lead grew to 33-7.
 
After forcing another Redskins punt, the Patriots got the ball back on their own 16 with 6:11 left in the game. However instead of Brady under center, it was backup Jarrett Stidham who was taking snaps under center. Unlike his game against the Jets, Stidham didn’t make any turnovers. He simply just handed the ball off to Michel on one possession and then to Bolden on the Patriots’ next offensive possession. The defense, on the other hand, continued to smother the Redskins offense as the clock continued to run down.
 
When the final gun went off, the final score read 33-7. The Patriots had won their 5th straight victory of the 2019 season, their 10th victory in a row dating far back as December 23, last year (including playoffs). They then began the trip back to Foxborough, Massachusetts, to heal up and get ready for a home Thursday night game against an old opponent that Patriots fans have mocked over the years but secretly resented.
 
Patriot Standouts
QB Tom Brady: 28-for-42 for 348 yards, 3 TD, and 1 INT for a QB Rating of 106.1
 
RB Sony Michel: 16 carries for 91 yards (5.7 yards per carry) and 1 TD, 3 catches (on 3 targets) for 32 yards
 
RB James White: 6 carries for 25 yards (4.2 yards per carry), 6 catches (on 8 targets) for 46 yards
 
WR Julian Edelman: 8 catches (on 9 targets) for 110 yards and 1 TD
 
P Jake Bailey: 6 punts for 287 yards (47.8 yards per punt), 2 downed inside 20
 
CB Jason McCourty: 7 tackles (6 solo, 1 assists), 1 INT
 
LB Jamie Collins: 2 tackles (2 solo, 0 assist), 1.0 sacks, 1 fumble recovery
 
LB Dont’a Hightower: 5 tackles (4 solo, 1 assists), 1.5 sacks
 
Numbers! Numbers! Numbers!
90 – The career number of games where QB Tom Brady has thrown 300+ passing yards, placing him 3rd all time
 
71,923 -The career passing yards of Tom Brady, putting him 3rd all-time (Drew Brees, 74,845; Peyton Manning, 71,940)
 
13:48 – The amount of time (13 minutes & 48 seconds) the Patriots trailed in the game, the only time they have trailed in the entire 2019 season up to this point
 
3 – The number of winless teams the Patriots have faced (0-4 Miami Dolphins, 0-5 New York Jets, and now 0-5 Washington Redskins) this season
 
36 – The average score by the Patriots in each of those games
 
7 - The average score by the Patriots opponents in each of those games
 
110 – The receiving yards WR Julian Edelman had for the game, becoming the 1st Patriot in 2019 to register 100+ yards receiving in 2019
 
Kicking Woes…Cured?
For the past 4 games, it seemed like there was an issue with the Patriots kicking game. K Stephen Gostkowski missed an extra point in each of the Patriots first 4 games and seemed to be struggling kicking the ball off on kickoffs.
 
Then on Wednesday, it was announced that the Patriots placed Gostkowski on injured reserve. The reason was that it was revealed that Gostkowski was battling a hip injury that affected his kicking ability and leg strength. The injury itself would end up requiring surgery, which would more likely than not end Gostkowski’s 2019 season.
 
The following Thursday, the Patriots brought in multiple kickers to tryout (even though coach Bill Belichick tried to deny such a thing). Out of the kickers that they brought in, the Patriots ended up signing longtime NFL Kicker Mike Nugent as well as former Chargers K Younghoe Koo to the practice squad.
 
In his debut against the Redskins, Nugent missed his first PAT attempt, which seems par for the course. He then ended up making 3 more PAT attempts as well as 2 field goals for a total of 9 points.
 
Let’s be honest, Nugent isn’t going to light up the world with his kicking abilities. However, he does at least provide the Patriots a proven kicker for the time being. But with the way the offense has been playing and how the defense is shutting everybody out, this is one problem the team can weather for now.
 
Fox Fist Bump
The Fox Fist Bump goes to Butt Chin himself, QB Tom Brady.
 
After what was arguably his worst game of the 2019 and like his 5th worst game (QB rating wise) in Buffalo last week, Brady had a big bounce back game. He peppered the Redskins defense to the tune of 348 yards on 28 completions out of 42 attempts (66.7% completion percentage) and 3 TDs. Of course, he did have that red zone interception (the 2nd week in a row that’s happened) but it didn’t matter cause the Redskins offense was absolute garbage.
 
I wouldn’t say Tommy Boy is back given how awful the Redskins defense was but it’s at least comforting to Patriots fans know that he can still sling the ball. Even if it’s against one of the worst secondaries in football.
 
The Meatball
There was no Meatball for this week. That is if you can give the entire Washington Redskins a meatball. Good lord, they sucked and blowed.
 
Play of the Game
The Only Time the Pats Trailed

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