Patriots
“That’s horrible. The people who watch me, I don’t want anybody seeing that and thinking that’s OK.”
Are the Patriots’ receivers growing frustrated with the team’s grounded passing game?
Second-year pro DeMario Douglas looked that way during Sunday’s blowout loss to the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
On several occasions during New England’s 30-13 loss, Douglas did little to hide his exasperation at the lack of passes coming his way from Jacoby Brissett — throwing his hands up and jumping up and down when the ball sailed towards another target.
Even though the shifty wideout had several plays where he separated from San Francisco’s defensive backs, he finished the game with three catches off of three targets for 13 total yards.
Be it the lack of time afforded to Brissett to scan the field for Douglas or the veteran QB simply missing the 23-year-old receiver during his reads, Douglas struggled to get involved in New England’s offense in Santa Clara.
But speaking to NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry on Wednesday, Douglas offered up contrition for his body language on Sunday, especially after reviewing the game film.
“That’s horrible,” Douglas told Perry. “That’s horrible. The people who watch me, I don’t want anybody seeing that and thinking that’s OK. That’s not OK. That affects other people too.
“People can take it and run with it and think it’s something else. It’s not. That stuff can hurt the team. I’m not that person. I’m trying to help the team.”
Douglas added that his frustrations were not just about the lack of targets heading his way, but New England’s overall inability to push the ball down the field.
The Patriots rank last in the NFL in passing yards per game so far this season at 112.3. Sunday was an improvement for Brissett, with New England gaining 143 yards through the air. Still, the Patriots were just 5-for-16 on third-down opportunities.
“It wasn’t solely about me getting the ball,” Douglas said. “It was about us executing. It was third down. Third down. We were getting off the field, and some of those were turning points. It wasn’t all about me getting the ball.”
Sunday was not the first time this season that Douglas has expressed frustration about his lack of targets on New England’s offense. Ahead of the team’s Week 3 game against the Jets last month, Douglas noted that this season has been “very challenging” in terms of his touches.
In 2023, Douglas led the team in receiving yards (561) and catches of 20-plus yards (six).
Through four games this season, Douglas has reeled in 12 catches off 15 targets for 94 total yards and zero touchdowns.
On Wednesday, Jerod Mayo stressed that his players need to curtail any visible signs of frustration, especially while in the midst of a game.
“Yeah, one thing I would say is, as a team, we don’t want to show or voice our frustrations on the field like that as visible to everyone,” Mayo said. “I will say, look, it’s good to have guys that want to go out there and make plays, guys that want to go out there and compete. It’s a natural human instinct to be frustrated when things aren’t going your way.
“Look, things aren’t going our way as a team right now, and am I frustrated? Absolutely. But I understand that we have a lot of work to do. It’s the first quarter of the season. Now, we’re going into the second quarter of the season, and hopefully we’re getting better.”
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