Patriots rely on offense to show good results

The numbers are not flattering.

The New England Patriots head into Sunday’s game against the New York Jets ranked No. 27 in ground attack and as the league’s No. 26 offense. They rank No. 24 in points per game and No. 19 in passing offense.

And with 11 turnovers in six games, only the Kansas City Chiefs (14) and Jacksonville Jaguars (12) have given it up more times.

But even after a 35-29 overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys that put them with a 2-4 record on the campaign (0-4 at home), members of the team’s offense insist they are making progress.

“I think as the weeks go on, we continue to get better at some things,” tight end Jonnu Smith said Wednesday. “There are definitely some things we need to fine-tune. Ultimately, we’re coming up short and we just have to fix those things that keep making us come up short. I definitely think there are some things we’re making progress on, but we have a lot of things to improve on.”

There were several reasons for concern in the loss to the Cowboys: the Patriots had possession of the ball just 26:51 minutes to Dallas’ 39:17, hit 3 of 9 third-down conversion attempts, and quarterback Mac Jones turned the ball over twice, once on an interception by corner Trevon Diggs that he returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

But there were also several positive signs.

The 29 points the Patriots scored were the most they have scored so far this season. Damien Harris’ 101 yards on the ground included a 4-yard touchdown and represented his second game with at least 100 yards on the year.

Rookie Rhamondre Stevenson’s 62 yards from the line of scrimmage (five carries for 23 yards, three receptions for 39) were a career high and included his first NFL touchdown on a 1-yard carry in the fourth quarter.

The team posted a season-high six plays of 20 yards or more (four passing and two on the ground), which included touchdown passes from Jones to tight end Hunter Henry (20 yards) and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne (75 yards). For the fifth time in six games, Jones completed more than 70 percent of his passes (15 of 21 attempts, or 71.4 percent), making him the first rookie to do so.

“I think we’re headed in the right direction,” Jones commented. “So there’s still a lot to do and there’s a lot of work ahead of us.”

In this week’s opponent, the Jets with a 1-4 record, the Patriots will face a team they have beaten 11 straight times since 2016, most recently in Week 2 of the season 25-6. The Patriots have won just once since then, a 25-22 comeback win over the Houston Texans in Houston in Week 5.