The New England Patriots lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 26-10, on Monday, and it isn’t difficult to determine why: quarterback play.
The Chiefs, with Patrick Mahomes, had it; the Patriots, with Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham, did not.
Instead, Hoyer threw an interception, fumbled, and committed a pair of “unforgivable” mistakes in the red zone that cost the Patriots at least six points, while Hoyer threw two picks of his own, including a pick-six.
Where would the Patriots (2-2) be without Cam Newton this season?
“Ugly,” Volin said. “It would have been ugly. That game in Seattle where they had a furious comeback and almost scored the game-winning touchdown at the end, that probably would have been a blowout. The Patriots would probably be looking at 1-3, if not 0-4, right now.”
To be fair, Julian Edelman caused Stidham’s pick-six, but Stidham still finished 5-of-13 for 60 yards, one touchdown and two turnovers.
“I never really bought the Jarrett Stidham hype this offseason,” Volin said. “When you think about how the Patriots went 20 years with the best quarterback play of all time and how important that position is, I just never understood why they were going to hand the position to a fourth-round pick who had four career passes – and they weren’t going to. I believe they were just waiting out Cam Newton. They had a pretty good idea that there weren’t going to be too many teams going after Cam Newton, and I think they just waited him out. But it would have been ugly this year given COVID, given how ugly the Patriots’ schedule is. I am not a believer in Jarrett Stidham.”
Unfortunately for the Patriots, Newton could miss New England’s Week 5 game against Denver (1-3), which means Stidham could be thrust into action once more.
“Look, he’s still only a second-year player. Maybe he has a long way to go,” Volin said. “But the Patriots, thank goodness they found Cam Newton because they’re a real team again with him at quarterback.”