Patriots Report Card: Rhamondre Stevenson, Pats Offense Come Up Short Vs. Bengals

Perry's Report Card: Stevenson, Pats offense come up short vs. Bengals originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

FOXBORO -- The Patriots were what looked like a punched-out football away from pulling off a Christmas miracle. But, like a Hallmark holiday movie, the Patriots' finish was predictable.

Mistake in the red zone. Turnover. Game over.

Patriots-Bengals takeaways: Pats can't complete Christmas Eve comeback

Rhamondre Stevenson coughed up what might've been this team's final chance at keeping its playoff hopes alive when Bengals safety Vonn Bell knocked the ball loose and Cincinnati recovered at its own eight-yard line.

"Losing alone is sour," Jakobi Meyers said after the game, "but losing a game that you really needed to win to get to where you wanted to go, that's even more sour."

Let's get to the Week 16 grades...

Quarterback: B-

Mac Jones finished with 240 yards passing, completing 21 of his 33 attempts, adding two touchdowns for a rating of 105.6. Forty-eight of those yards came on a Meyers touchdown that was tipped by Scotty Washington, but credit to Jones for getting it down the field that way in freezing temperatures one week after his arm strength seemed to be questioned by Bill Belichick.

Jones threw behind Meyers on a crossing route and later launched a fade too deep in the first half. He also was fortunate his late lefty shovel wasn’t called a fumble. In the second half, he turned it on, though. His best throw of the game might've been a fade dropped by Tyquan Thornton. Then he and Kendrick Bourne discovered their connection at the end of the third quarter with a 19-yard completion along the sideline that was well-timed. A seam for 32 yards was threaded between defenders and a scramble-drill touchdown to Bourne a few plays later cut the Bengals lead to 22-12. In desperation mode, Jones was at his best.

Running back: F

Rhamondre Stevenson averaged just 2.3 yards per carry, he had a drop late in the game, and his fumble in the fourth quarter sealed his team's fate. He’s one of this team’s best players, but his critical mistake — whether or not it should’ve been blown dead because his forward progress was stopped — drops this grade to where it is.

Wide receiver: B+

Kendrick Bourne almost single-handedly — with help from Mac Jones — breathed life into this offense. Why then didn’t he play more? Why did it look like his first snap of the game was a 29-yard end-around run where he broke a tackle during the second quarter? “No particular reason,” Bill Belichick said after the game. He ended up with 100 yards, which goes down as his first 100-yard game in his career.

While his touchdown was an impressive contested grab on a scramble drill, his best play was a toe-tapping 28-yarder that was overturned upon review. Tyquan Thornton’s first-half drop came on a well-placed fade down the sideline that would’ve put the Patriots in scoring position — not to mention get the team over midfield, which was something they didn’t do until the end of the third quarter. Jakobi Meyers had six catches for 83 yards and a touchdown on his heads-up quasi-Hail Mary. Marcus Jones caught a screen for 15 that was impressive. He may be the team’s third-best wideout at this point.

Tight end: C+

Not much happening from this unit, in part because Hunter Henry was knocked from the game after the first Patriots third down of the game. He collided with Jonnu Smith on a route where the two occupied the same space at the same time — something that has plagued this passing game all year — and didn’t return.

Jonnu Smith had three grabs for 21 yards before leaving with a head injury when he and Kendrick Bourne occupied the same space at the same time on a fourth-quarter completion. Scotty Washington had a tremendous tip on Mac Jones’ long-bomb touchdown, and he was credited with an assist from Meyers after the fact. Not bad for a practice-squad call-up.

Offensive line: D

The Patriots averaged just 3.8 yards per carry, and Mac Jones was sacked four times. At the end of the game, when the Patriots needed to drive the field from their own 24-yard line in 41 seconds to win it, they couldn’t protect Jones. As blocking broke down quickly, Jones had to check things down when they desperately needed to be explosive. With Jones’ skill set being what it is — not at his best when forced to play off-platform — it’s hard to function that way.

Special teams: F

This group struggled. Marcus Jones muffed a punt at the end of the game when they desperately needed a big return. Nick Folk missed two extra points and Michael Palardy just forgot to swing his leg forward on a punt early on. Messy.

Defensive line: A-

Only 3.0 yards per carry on the ground elevated this unit’s mark into the “A” range. They were particularly strong late when the Bengals tried to burn clock, holding four fourth-quarter runs to two yards or less. They were stout — as was the rest of the defense — in the second half, holding Joe Burrow and Co. scoreless in the final 30 minutes.

Carl Davis was flagged for a hold, and there was a 19-yard gain given up on an outside zone play. But this group held firm on a Burrow sneak on third down, and Christian Barmore pressured Burrow into an incompletion on a third-down screen in the third quarter. Nice day from this unit. 

Linebacker: A-

Ja’Whaun Bentley’s pass breakup in the end zone and hard tackle in the flat helped turn a red-zone trip into only three points for the Bengals. He ended up behind only Marcus Jones (14) with a dozen tackles. Matthew Judon and Josh Uche each ended up with sacks against a banged-up tackle group for Cincinnati, and it seemed as though their rushes turned the Bengals’ plan into a short-throwing one.

Credit Judon, then, for anticipating a throw into the flat in the fourth quarter that led to his third-down forced fumble. He changed the game late even without getting to the quarterback. He did have a roughing-the-passer penalty early in the game on a Cinci scoring drive that prevented this grade from getting any higher. 

Secondary: B

Marcus Jones seems to be one of the few consistently-positive pieces to this puzzle in 2022. His 69-yard interception return for a touchdown showed his instincts and blazing straight-line speed. Credit to Kyle Dugger for hitting Joe Burrow to coax that butterfly attempt from his hands and make Jones’ pick an easy one. Jones also recovered the key late fumble caused by Judon. Devin McCourty’s pick early in the game felt like the first positive play of the game for the entire team, and it came almost 26 minutes into the game.

The reason this grade isn’t higher is because their lack of size on the outside was exploited. Big-bodies Tee Higgins reeled in eight grabs for 128 yards, including a couple of long jump balls against Jones. Ja’Marr Chase made Jones whiff in the flat on one impressive catch and run, and he used his physicality to end up with 79 yards on eight grabs.