New England Patriots outside linebacker Matt Judon (9) tackles Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) during the second half of Sunday's 17-16 Miami win at Gillette Stadium. (AP photo)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – There’s a lot of optimism surrounding the New England Patriots, even after a 17-16 season opening loss to the Miami Dolphins.

Fans were back, as that gruesome 2020 look of each regular season game being a controlled scrimmage in an empty stadium was gone.

There was excitement surrounding the debut of a rookie quarterback, and you left with the feeling that if the team needed to lean on him, Mac Jones is equal to the task.

The problem? The Patriots did everything basically but win the game.

And that prevented any public praise or evaluatio for one player or another.

“I don’t want to keep being redundant here, but’s all really the same,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “We did some good tings in the game, we certainly had our opportuniteis. But we didnt do enough in any area to have the results that we want.

“So there’s a lot of room for improvement for all of us – coaches, players, whatever position you want to name, whatever player you want to name.”

The Patriots have the right formula, they did not seem to hold back on Jones in making him a game manager. They were 11 of 16 on third downs (68 percent). They put up 393 yards of total offense. They won time of possession, 36:43 to 23:17.

Then why didn’t they win?

They turned it over, twice, via the fumble, and when you give the other team the ball with 3:30 left and down by a point when it looked like you would drive for the potential winning score, you’re likely not going to win the game.

And they also didn’t make the most of their red zone trips, going 1 for 4 while Miami was 2 for 2. And shot themselves in the foot with eight penalties.

The Patriots may need to open the game up more, because it seemed their conservative nature made the margin for error very tenuous.

“We were able to move the ball with a number of different types of plays and people in the game,” Belichick said. “But it just didn’t result in enough points and enough efficiency.”

But the other factor? The Patriots allowed two long Miami drives for touchdowns, and that simply can’t happen in a tight game. Miami used a quick hitting passing game with QB Tua Tagovailoa, which is really the only way his passing works.

“We didn’t do enough to win the game and to affect the game,” said Patriots pass rusher Matt Judon, who started slow but became more of a factor. “We’re going to look at it on film and swee what we can do better and see what we can improve on.”

Bend but not break isn’t a bad way to play defense, but you had better not break. The Patriots did in two key situations.

“We’re not going to back down and be scared of anybody the whole season,” Judon said. “We go out there as a unit and you do one-eleventh of your job. As a defense, that’s what you got to do.

“You got to continue to step up, no matter the situation, score or tie.”

“There are corrections to be made, adjustments to be made,” Patriots linebacker Josh Uche said. “When we watch the film, we will see that and correct that.”

Belichick and the fans should have no reason with the team’s approach. There was no shortage of effort, which might not have been the case at times last year in an empty stadium. As Uche said, “This was my first game with fans.”

“I thought we played hard and gave a good effort, but there’s certainly a lot of room for improvement in every area by all of us,” Belichick said. “So that’s what we’re going to focus on.”

The focus will be on the big picture. Results in September are often different in December and January.

Onto Week 2.

“We are optimistic,” Uche said. “We know we have another game. There are a lot more games to be played so we are onto the next one.”

More finish will mean a better finish at the finish line.