Patriots Fans Voice Concern over Matt Patricia's Offense amid Preseason Struggles

Erin WalshAugust 20, 2022

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones throws a pass during the first half of the team's preseason NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

The New England Patriots starters played the first quarter and the start of the second quarter of Friday's preseason game against the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium, and while the defense looked decent, fans were not thrilled with the offense.

Playing against Carolina's second unit from the outset, New England's Mac Jones-led offense went three-and-out on its first two drives of the game before going on a scoring drive to open the second quarter.

The touchdown drive included a 45-yard pass to Nelson Agholor and a rushing score by Ty Montgomery. But other than that, there wasn't too much to rave about in regards to the New England offense.

NFL Network @nflnetwork
Mac Jones 🎯 Nelson Agholor<a href="https://t.co/S85qORO0AM">pic.twitter.com/S85qORO0AM</a>

NE Arena @NE_Arena
Two three and outs is not what I wanted to see from the first string <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Patriots?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Patriots</a> offense.

Zach Anderson @zjanderson
I know it’s only preseason, but the <a href="https://twitter.com/Patriots?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Patriots</a> offense looks absolutely anemic.

Ben Kruse @benkruse144
This offense rn looks lost. Figure it out <a href="https://twitter.com/Patriots?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Patriots</a>

Ben Lubowitz @benlubowitz
Patriots can’t even get a first down against backups of an awful team. Patricia was an awful DC and he’s a “defensive specialist”. What the hell did people think was going to happen switching him to offense? Took two preseason drives to see the disaster.

Blizzy 🐬⬆️ @BlizzyFins
The Patriots really out here trying to implement a “Shanahan style offense” with Matt Patricia being the one to teach it… Boy have the mighty really fallen😬

Wagner @TheGerman21
The fact that their offense of backups is doing better against our starting defense than our starting offense is doing against their backup defense is great. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/patriots?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#patriots</a>

Warren Sharp @SharpFootball
2 possessions 2 play sheets between Patricia & Belichick 2 straight 3-and-outs <a href="https://t.co/qXXsfLYebQ">https://t.co/qXXsfLYebQ</a>

Mike Reiss @MikeReiss
Quick check-in on the offensive play-caller storyline: Clearly looks like Matt Patricia is calling them in to Mac Jones. Patricia has the big play-sheet in his hands on the sideline, and keeps activating his headset button when it's time to deliver the call in.

Aaron Lewis @AaronTLewis
Do you like chaotic quick screens and overthrown slants? You're gonna LOVE the 2022 New England Patriots offense!

Fans have expressed concerns about the Patriots offense throughout the summer as it has looked out of sync and disorganized with a combination of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge calling plays.

Neither Judge nor Patricia has an extensive amount of experience running an offense, so the concerns are warranted, especially with how the starting unit looked on Friday against the Panthers.

At one point earlier this month during training camp, Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston wrote that the New England offense was "distressingly bad," and his colleague, Phil Perry, added that it looked "broken."

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Time is winding down for the New England offense to figure things out as the Patriots are set to open the 2022 campaign against the revamped Miami Dolphins on Sept. 11.