Patriots defender opens up about offensive woes, losing streak: ‘It’s f-ing frustrating’
FOXBORO — After Sunday’s shutout loss to the Chargers, the Patriots became the first NFL team in 85 years to lose three straight games while allowing 10 or fewer points in each outing.
The Pats have reached historic levels of offensive futility, despite a recent change at quarterback. Backup Bailey Zappe went 13-of-25 for 141 yards Sunday in place of Mac Jones, while the offense went scoreless. Naturally, frustration has simmered in the locker room.
Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux gave voice to that frustration in a long post-game interview with the Herald.
“It’s frustrating. It’s frustrating. I’m not gonna sit up here and say, ‘You know, I still believe.’ It’s f—ing frustrating. Anybody can tell you that,” Godchaux said. “You know, I thought Zappe made some good throws today. I thought there was a couple balls we could’ve caught as receivers, and those guys would tell you the same thing, too. They can take accountability, and we’ve all got (expletive) (expletive) we all messed up on. But the margin of error in this league is so small.”
Godchaux continued: “Like, Tyquan (Thornton) had the guy beat by like three steps. And we’ve gotta make those catches. The margin of error is so small. I still think Tyquan’s got a bright future, he’s a really, really talented guy. But the margin for error in this league is so small, man. One opportunity that you let slip, like — we didn’t really get another opportunity to throw another deep ball. DP (Devante Parker) had one, but he ended up being out of bounds.”
Godchaux then credited the Patriots’ opponents, saying all players in the league are “good at something.” He said the Patriots must take advantage of their opportunities and believes their defense is as good as any in the NFL. He also described Zappe as looking comfortable in the pocket, before addressing the fans.
New England Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux walks on the field prior to a Nov. 1 game in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)
“I’m sad we didn’t get it done, man. I don’t even remember if we’ve won a home game. Against Buffalo, that’s probably the only one. It’s sad that we can’t give the fans what they want, to win. Because I think we’re a playoff team, but our record doesn’t show that,” Godchaux said. “We’re a 2-10 team, and it’s just frustrating. But no one’s going to feel sorry for us.
“We’ve got a tough one on the road. I’m so looking forward to playing in Pittsburgh on Thursday; great environment, playing at night. So I’m looking forward to it.”
Informed the Patriots could face a backup quarterback next week in Pittsburgh, with Steelers starter Kenny Pickett suffering an ankle injury Sunday, Godchaux dismissed the significance, while again referencing his own offense.
“It don’t matter. We gotta score, and we gotta win. We could get goddamn me at quarterback, we still gotta win,” he said. “But it’s frustrating, man. I won’t even sit up there and lie to you and tell you it’s not. Obviously you guys have been here longer than me watching Patriots games. This is very frustrating.
“Like I said, nobody’s going to feel sorry for us because everybody loves beating the Patriots because of the dynasty they had over two decades. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for the Patriots. So we’ve gotta fix it. Even though we’ve got five games left and are not going to the playoffs, you don’t wanna put (expletive) on film and look bad.
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“And that’s why our defense, man, our standard is so high. Our coaches hold us to such a high standard, and we’re gonna come out and try to hold people to zero points next week. So, we’ll see.”
Godchaux then echoed comments Patriots safety Adrian Phillips made last week to the Herald, saying the defense needs to post a shutout for the team to win. The Pats will travel to Pittsburgh soon for an 8:15 p.m. kickoff on Thursday Night Football.
“It’s gonna be very interesting. (The Steelers) have got a lot of good players up front, we’ve got some good players up front. It’s gonna be interesting. We’ve just gotta get after ’em,” Godchaux said. “Like I said , we can’t even afford to let ’em kick a field goal — we’ve gotta hold them to zero. It’s going to be interesting next week.
“Just excited to see whoever’s at quarterback, (to see) him keep getting better and better and try to put some points on the board next week and just give us a chance.”