GLENDALE, Ariz. -- When the Patriots wrapped up their win over the Cardinals on Monday Night Football, Matt Patricia and Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph met at midfield. Awkward.
Last week, Joseph had described the Patriots offense as one that appeared to be run by a "defensive guy." Four yards a play. Don't turn it over. And screens. Don't forget the screens. "Lots of screens," Joseph said at the time.
It looked like Joseph did his best on the State Farm Stadium turf to explain away his comments to the de facto Patriots offensive coordinator. Patricia's team did win the game, after all. Maybe Joseph felt he needed to clear the air. But he wasn't wrong during his press conference. And Patricia did nothing to prove him wrong when their teams met on prime time.
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Different week. Same plan.
The Patriots threw a dozen screens in the game, per ESPN Stats and Info, which was the second-most by any quarterback this season. (Jalen Hurts threw 14 against the Cardinals in Week 5.) Mac Jones averaged 5.4 intended air yards per throw, according to Next Gen Stats.
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And with the Cardinals blitzing early and often -- Patriots center David Andrews said they were blitzed 11 times in the first half alone -- the plan was clearly for New England to get the ball out of Jones' hands quickly. That led to shorter throws and a less aggressive approach overall.
Again.
The timidity of the Patriots passing game was a topic of conversation all week last week, thanks in part to Joseph fanning the flames during his mid-week media availability period. But Patriots players spoke openly about how they were frustrated by the lack of down-the-field throws during their home loss to the Bills. Yet it was more of the same in their latest outing.
Bill Belichick noted after the game that the Patriots hit Hunter Henry on two deep seam passes, one for 30 yards and one for 39 yards. But then he provided some insight as to why, perhaps, the Patriots remained as conservative as they were: the looming threat of a turnover.
"I thought Mac made a lot of good decisions," Belichick said. "We got hit on the deep ball that was the interception, so I don't know."
The Patriots only turned it over once during the game, but it came on a down-the-field attempt. Jones was hit as he threw and the Cardinals came up with it. That, in a nutshell, seems to be the reason the Patriots try to play it as safely as they do.
Jones was frustrated again this week -- as he was during last week's loss to the Bills -- gesturing toward the sidelines at times and shouting in the direction of coaches. But when asked after the game if he was miffed by how they'd performed, he said no.
"The biggest thing is not letting it affect my play and bringing the best out of my guys," Jones said of his outward display of emotion. "Today, I thought we all did a good job trying to play the next play, play the next series and Matty P. did a great job. He’s trying to call the game so that we can win.
"Sometimes, it might be this thing that people don’t know about -- like the quick passes for whatever reason -- and that’s our game plan. We knew what we had to do to win, and he called a great game and stayed calm. He’s a calm person, very stoic. We’re just going to continue to grow together and do what we can to win games."
Growth will be necessary for the Patriots to beat better teams down the stretch.
They scored 20 offensive points against one of the worst defenses in football. They nearly fumbled away points at the end of the first half with a head-scratching run call. They were an inch away from a Nelson Agholor drop becoming an interception. They burned a timeout just two plays into the second half. They were flagged for a delay of game penalty and seemed to have issues with the communication between Jones and Patricia. They went 3-for-11 on third down.
They'll need to be better, in all likelihood, against the Raiders. They'll certainly need to be better against the Bengals, Dolphins and Bills. But it's hard to envision all that much room for improvement unless they open things up offensively from where they've been these last two weeks.