Mark Daniels: Even in a loss, the Patriots should give you hope

The Patriots are 1-3. They’re in last place in the AFC East. They are one of five teams in their conference to have one win or less heading into Week 5. Their starting quarterback, Mac Jones, is out with a high ankle sprain. Their veteran backup quarterback, Brian Hoyer, is out with a head injury.

More: With rookie Bailey Zappe at QB, Patriots nearly upset Packers in overtime thriller

The sky should be falling in New England, right? The NFL’s greatest dynasty has crumbled. Patriots haters should rejoice.

Except, here’s the problem: the Patriots showed the kind of gusto in their 27-24 overtime loss in Green Bay that’s only going to help them. They showed the type of resilience that gives you hope. I’ll be honest, I expected the Patriots to walk into Lambeau Field and get steamrolled with Hoyer at QB. That didn’t happen — and they played third-string rookie Bailey Zappe for most of the game.

The Patriots showed me something on Sunday night. Hopefully, they proved something to themselves.

You don’t like to characterize any defeat as a "good loss," but this one looked like an exception. The Pats now head into a soft part of their schedule with a 1-3 record for the ninth time in franchise history. The last two times was last season where they ended up making the playoffs, and in 2001, when they won the Super Bowl.

More: Doctors weigh in on Patriots QB Mac Jones' high ankle sprain, and possible recovery time

An overtime loss with a rookie quarterback isn’t going to make me think they’re Super Bowl bound, but I don’t think it’s crazy to say the Patriots could turn this ship around and make a run for the playoffs.

Patriots found an identity

It’s not rocket science, but credit goes to Matt Patricia and the Patriots offensive coaching staff for putting together a safe and solid game plan for Green Bay.

With Hoyer, and then with Zappe, the Patriots moved the ball by dominating the line of scrimmage. This game was all about running backs Damien Harris (86 yards, touchdown) and Rhamondre Stevenson (66 yards). The Pats ran the ball 33 times for 167 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. With Jones out, the Pats turned into a run-first team.

That opened up play-action passes. Hoyer’s first resulted in a 27-yard pass to Nelson Agholor. Zappe had a similar play to Agholor that went for a gain of 21. When they weren’t running the ball or running play-action fakes, you saw many safe throws from Zappe.

That’s been a departure from Jones and the reason seems obvious — the Pats trust Jones more than either backup. However, there is something to be learned from Sunday — sometimes the safe throw is the best throw. Jones entered last week tied for the league lead in interceptions. That’s not because he’s inaccurate, but because he’s been asked to throw the ball deep and attempt more 50/50 passes.

When Jones comes back, the Patriots should dial down the low percentage throws and lean on their talented running backs.

The upcoming schedule is favorable for the Patriots

The Patriots defense stifled Packers' Aaron Rodgers for two quarters. The future Hall-of-Fame quarterback completed 4 of 11 passes for 44 yards, with an interception in the first half. We knew his struggles wouldn't continue and Rodgers was better in the second half. He shined in overtime in setting up the game-winning field goal.

The Pats were without two starters — cornerback Jalen Mills and defensive tackle Lawrence Guy — and still put together a promising performance against a good quarterback. That should lead to very good things in the future.

In order to get things back on track, the Patriots need to win. Their next five opponents are the Detroit Lions (1-3), Cleveland Browns (2-2), Chicago Bears (2-2), New York Jets (2-2) and Indianapolis Colts (1-2-1). That means the Patriots defense will go from facing Aaron Rodgers to Jared Goff, Jacoby Brissett, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson and Matt Ryan.

This is by far the easiest portion of the Patriots 2022 schedule. The defense has shown some bright spots this season. For however long Jones is out, the Pats will need the defense to step up and play like it did on Sunday. If it does that, the Patriots will have a chance at winning the game.

Patriots have a promising young core

The Patriots could use more elite talent on their roster. Quarterbacks aren’t throwing to a Pro Bowl target. The only Pro Bowl lock on this roster is linebacker Matthew Judon. What the Patriots do have, however, is a roster full of solid veterans and promising young players.

Throughout the lpast two years, several young drafted players have stepped up. Start with the quarterback (Jones), but Stevenson has shown to be a very efficient running back and defensive tackle Christian Barmore has shown to have dominant potential.

This year’s rookie class is also sticking out. Cole Strange has filled in admirably at left guard. On Sunday, rookie Jack Jones earned his first start at cornerback and responded with a pick-6 interception along with a forced fumble and recovery. Rookie Marcus Jones was also impressive in the return game. The third-round pick returned four kicks for 111 yards (27.8 average) with a long of 37. He returned two punts for 49 yards (24.5 average) with a long of 29.

Then there was Zappe. There should be no delusions of grandeur here. He’s not replacing Jones, but the fourth-round pick showed enough poise to keep the Patriots in the game against a good Green Bay defense.

The Patriots are leaning on a lot of youth. We’ve seen plenty of growing pains over the last two seasons. Of course, the goal is to win and the Patriots aren’t doing too much of that lately. The loss in Green Bay, however, gave me hope. I look at this team with a sense of optimism.

It’s not all doom and gloom in New England. Truthfully, the future looks bright.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Despite loss, the Patriots are giving columnist Mark Daniels some hope