The New England Patriots are limping into Week 4 against the San Francisco 49ers. Not only has their roster been banged up but they’re also coming off back-to-back losses to the Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets.
Suddenly, the narrative surrounding the team has shifted from gleeful, new beginnings under first-year head coach Jerod Mayo to the same doom and gloom that befell them in Bill Belichick’s final season.
More: Jacoby Brissett gives honest assessment of Patriots’ offensive line.
The good news is the defense has continued to fight despite being gutted with injuries, and rookie quarterback Drake Maye took his first regular-season snaps late in the fourth quarter against the Jets.
Hope isn’t dead for the rebuilding Patriots but they have a giant task ahead of them in Sunday’s road game against the 49ers.
Let’s take a look at who’s stock is up and who’s stock is down ahead of the matchup:
DeMario Douglas of the New England Patriots runs the ball against the New York Jets during the second quarter in the game at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 19.
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Stock up: Wide receiver DeMario Douglas
The Patriots finally made more of an effort to get wide receiver Douglas involved in the offense. He’s one of the few receivers on the roster capable of creating consistent separation, but he’s also one of the best playmakers with the ball in his hands. He can get yards after the catch and turn small chunk plays into huge gains.
Stock up: Punter Bryce Baringer
Baringer deserves his flowers for the incredible season he’s having so far. The Patriots’ punter has consistently flipped the field position in their favor. Even with the offense struggling, he’s giving the team a fighting chance by forcing opponents to go the length of the field to score points.
Stock down: Pass protection
The New England pass protection was atrocious in last Thursday’s loss to the Jets. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett looked like a crash-test dummy after being sacked five times in total. Rookie quarterback Drake Maye had to eat two sacks on his one and only drive late in the fourth quarter. With seven sacks and 15 total quarterback hits, the Jets’ defense was slamming bodies around like an episode of WWE’s “Monday Night Raw.”
Injuries were clearly an issue for the Patriots in the game, but the problem for New England runs much deeper than that. Their personnel isn’t talented enough up front, and there’s no clear or certain fix for that issue at this juncture.
Stock down: Cornerback Alex Austin
With Marco Wilson on the inactive list, Austin had a chance to prove himself worthy of being bumped up on the cornerback depth chart. Instead, he proved to be a target ripe for the picking for quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Jets’ offense.
He took a horrible angle in the red zone when attempting to tackle Jets receiver Allen Lazard, who caught a short pass from Rodgers. Lazard juked inside of Austin, who grabbed nothing but a handful of T-shirt before giving up an easy touchdown.
The Patriots’ Joey Slye kicks a field goal against the Seattle Seahawks at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 15.
Stock up: Kicker Joey Slye
Outside of one blocked kick against the Seattle Seahawks, Slye has been perfect kicking for the Patriots. His 44-yard field goal led to the only points on the scoreboard for the Patriots in the loss to the Jets. The kicking game being more consistent has been one of the early positive takeaways from the season. It was so disastrous last year that it played a hand in the team being in a position to draft Maye.
Stock up: Linebacker Joshua Uche
Uche stepped up in a big way for the Patriots’ defense against the Jets. It was easily his best game of the season as he racked up five tackles and a sack on Rodgers. Uche had a quiet 2023 season following what many believed to be a breakout year in 2022. Given all of the injuries to the defensive front, his ability to get back to the 2022 version of him would be a huge boost for the unit this season.
Stock up: Linebacker Jahlani Tavai
Tavai had a bad unnecessary roughness penalty in the game against the Jets, but overall, he stepped up admirably in the Ja’Whaun Bentley role for the defense. He wore the green dot and relayed the defensive play calls. His ability to fly around the field and make plays helped keep the defense competitive, despite the lopsided score. The veteran linebacker finished the game tied for a team-high 10 tackles and one tackle for a loss.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Whose stock is up, down as Patriots head to San Francisco for Week 4
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