Compared to the 2020 season led by quarterback Cam Newton, the New England Patriots’ passing offense took a massive step in the right direction the following year. With first-round rookie Mac Jones under center and an improved cast of skill position players around him, the Patriots developed nicely across the board.
That being said, the unit as a whole still had its issues. Some of it had to do with Jones learning on the job, some with offseason acquisitions such as Jonnu Smith or Nelson Agholor adapting slower to the system.
All of this combined also led to some conceptual problems, with one concrete example being the play-action game.