The Patriots Struggled on third down versus the Raiders, going 3-11. They also scored a touchdown 3-6 times in the red zone. The Patriots are 45% on third downs and score a touchdown 56% of the time in the red zone.
Third down conversion is about making one clutch play, it's a team effort from the coordinator to the players. The team isn't executing, it's not clutch. This has to improve. The Raiders should've been a cake walk coming off of a short week and having to travel across country. Was Seattle the Patriots superbowl?
The red zone is simply just being able to move the ball 20 yards. For some reason teams can move the ball up and down the field. Their backs can run 3-6 yards a carry. Teams average 5-10 yards per passing attempt, yet bye the goal line they cannot get in because it's shorter field? I don't buy that and never have.
It's great being able to kick field goals. Folk was 3-3 on the day and is 4-6 on the season. He's 9-10 on XPs. It doesn't matter how many kicks Folk makes. The Patriots have to go up against some of the highest scoring offenses in the league. The Patriots defense has it's issues. The Seahawks put up 35 points on the Patriots and although the Patriots scored 30, it wasn't that close of a game. Teams cannot trade field goals versus touchdowns. The Patriots definitely can't.
The Patriots must be able to convert on third down and they must be able to move the ball in the red zone. If the Patriots went 50% against Seattle in the red zone, It would be excusable. If they went under 30% on third downs versus Seattle, it would've been understandable.
What the Patriots did against the Raiders further proves, the game against Seattle wasn't as close as the score. The Patriots have potential but they must fix some things.
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