Patriots must find ways to get Douglas the ball after two tough games originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Seattle Seahawks‘ best wide receivers were true difference makers in their 23-20 overtime win against the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon.

Seattle wideouts DK Metcalf (10 receptions, 129 yards, one touchdown) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (12 receptions, 117 yards) torched the New England secondary nearly the entire game. Metcalf scored on a 54-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.

The Patriots, meanwhile, had three receptions for 19 yards from wide receivers in the whole game. Ja’Lynn Polk caught two passes for 12 yards and a touchdown, and K.J. Osborn had one catch for seven yards.

That’s it.

!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r

The Patriots have to figure out how to make their passing attack more dangerous, especially at the wide receiver position. One player who needs to be involved a lot more is DeMario “Pop” Douglas.

He came into the 2024 season as the Patriots’ most dynamic wide receiver, but through two games he has been targeted just three times. He caught two passes for 13 yards on three targets in the Week 1 win against the Cincinnati Bengals. Douglas wasn’t targeted a single time Sunday versus the Seahawks.

“Yeah, we have to get him going,” Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters when asked about Douglas during his postgame press conference, as seen in the video above.

“We have to scheme up some things for him. He’s one of our most explosive players, and that’s on us as coaches to put it together.”

Douglas led all Patriots wide receivers in receptions (49) and receiving yards (561) last season despite missing three games. He’s also a threat in the run game on jet sweeps and similar types of plays due to his speed and quickness.

The Patriots’ rushing attack has been very productive through two games, highlighted by Rhamondre Stevenson‘s 207 yards and two touchdowns. Veteran tight end Hunter Henry is off to a nice start, too. He tallied eight receptions for a career-high 109 yards against the Seahawks.

But for the Patriots to score enough points to win games this season, the wide receivers have to be way more involved. Douglas, as the most explosive player in the group, needs to get the ball early and often in Week 3 against the New York Jets.

“Yeah, I think obviously we would like more in our passing game,” Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett said in his postgame press conference. “I’ve got to do a better job of getting a lot of those guys involved in the game plan and throughout the game. I take responsibility for that.”