The Patriots offense has been one of the worst in football so far this season.

With only one week left in the 2023 regular season, the New England Patriots already know they will finish as one of the worst scoring teams in the NFL. Averaging just 14.6 points per game, they are currently ranked dead-last in the league and any improvement made in Week 18 would only be of a marginal nature.

The biggest reason for that is the Patriots’ inability to score points on offense. The unit has ended a game in the single digits five times this year — including two shutouts — and has not crossed the 30-point barrier even once (extending its streak to 27 games).

For the man running the show on offense, coordinator Bill O’Brien, it all comes down to one simple issue.

“Inconsistency in a lot of areas,” O’Brien told reporters on Tuesday. “And I think, obviously, coaching-wise that’s what it’s all about. We have to do a better job of finding consistency, and a lot of that’s coaching.”

The Patriots’ inconsistency on that side of the ball was on full display during last week’s 27-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

New England turned the football over four times in its first four possessions, and went just 4-of-10 on third down. However, the unit also out-gained the Bills both in volume and yards per play, and found the end zone on both of its trips to the red area.

The inconsistency can therefore best be summed up by this statistic: the Patriots are dead-last in red zone snaps this season, but they actually have the second-best conversion rate in the NFL inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

What is the problem? For O’Brien, there is not one single issue.

“I think the turnovers have been a problem. We’ve been inconsistent. We’ve turned the ball over way too much, which is obviously evident in this game last weekend,” he said.

“We’ve been inconsistent with our protection, with our run blocking up front. We’ve been inconsistent in the passing game. I accept responsibility for that. That comes down to doing a better job of coaching, and hopefully we’ll do a good job — a better job — of coaching this week and get these guys ready to go.”

The Patriots’ woes on offense can be traced back to a variety of issues, from player quality and development, to injuries, to — as O’Brien said — coaching. Regardless of the roots of the issue, the end result is the same: New England is just 4-12 heading into its season finale against the New York Jets on Sunday.

That game will be one final opportunity for the Patriots and their lackluster offense to show improvement and wash some of the bad taste of 2023 from its collective mouth. For that to happen, though, players and coaches alike need to finally start executing in unison, said O’Brien.

“It’s about coaching, it’s about playing, and it’s about those groups coming together and being able to execute on the field.”