Ever since the departure of Tom Brady, the Patriots have been terrible on the offensive side of the ball. For a team that had been so dominant over the past 20 years, the Patriots have missed the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. Many fans are quick to point the finger to the offensive unit as they have finished in the bottom half of the league in points scored every year since 2020. With the 2023 season just getting underway, the Patriots offense has continued to be below average as they are one of five teams who are yet to score more than 20 points in a game. Fans are starting to become more than frustrated with the lack of success the team has had, with many of them wanting changes within the players and staff.

From the moment Brady left New England, the Patriots have yet to fill the shoes of many members on the offense. In 2020 the Patriots signed an aging, and struggling Cam Newton which many fans could tell that this was in no way near the answer to success. This led to the Patriots first season under .500 since 2000. With the higher than usual draft pick the Patriots selected their hopes of a long term replacement with Alabama quarterback Mac Jones in the first round. The rookie showed positive signs in the 2021 season, but has seemed to plateau and even shown declines. On top of the poor quarterback play, the team has yet to find substitutes to the key weapons Brady had during his tenure. The current offensive unit is a complete mess from head to toe as they just can’t seem to find any answer.

Even with the poor production from the players on the field, this issue goes way beyond that, as it stems from the coaching and even the front office. Going into the 2022 season Offensive Coordinator Josh Mcdaniels left his role to take a head coaching spot with the Las Vegas Raiders. With the open spot, the Patriots elected to bring back former defensive coordinator and recent Lions Head coach Matt

Patricia to fill the void. This hire began to backfire quickly due to Patricia’s subpar play calling and misuse of talent. The offense lacked any liveliness and was extremely predictable resulting in multiple low scoring games. Throughout the 2022 season, networks captured Jones and Patricia getting into altercations with each other countless times displaying the overall theme of the Patriots year, Frustration. With Mac having a terrible sophomore season, fans are wondering if Patricia’s offensive strategy stunted his growth as it seemed to kill any sort of progress he made his rookie year.

The most disappointing part of the offensive struggles the Patriots have had over the past 3 seasons, is the fact that the Patriots defense has been so dominant. The New England defense have found themselves consistently in the top 10, carrying this team week in and week out. They continually put this team in situations to win, however in many cases the offense fails to back them up. Whether it be holding high powered offensives to low scoring, forcing turnovers in crucial moments, or even scoring more points than the offense itself, this defense is good enough to be serious contenders if paired with a functioning offense. However, the Patriots seem to be nowhere close to getting back to that stage anytime soon, wasting the defensive talent they have.

Every week the patriots look like they are inching closer to having to fully blow it up and start a rebuild. At the moment this franchise as a whole seems outdated. With Bill Belichick being 71, and Robert Kraft being 82, it’s seriously time to wonder if these prominent figures should still be making the calls. They have passed on a plethora of superstars in the recent drafts and it feels like every decision they make goes in the wrong direction. The young pieces on the offense will really need to turn this season around if they want to prove they are capable of playing for this team in the future. At this point in the season, the Patriots should be focusing on their issues as a team, rather than worrying about the wins and losses. There’s a lot of important pieces that need to be filled in order for this team to get back to their winning ways. Without drastic improvements in the offensive play, the 2023 season may be well on it’s way to going in the trash.