After falling to the Jaguars 35-6, the largest defeat of the Mike Vrabel era, the Patriots find themselves in a familiar spot: 1-2 after Week 3.
This is the sixth straight year the Patriots have been 1-2 after Week 3.
Only two of the previous five teams finished with a winning record: the 2021 team, which finished 10-7, and last year’s Patriots, who finished 14-3.
One obvious trend among the teams that turned things around and finished with a winning record is their quarterback play.
As fluky as it may have been, Mac Jones finished second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2021 and was named to the Pro Bowl, albeit as an alternate.
As we all know, Drake Maye was the MVP runner-up last season.
He has been far from that this season, and that makes it difficult to feel much optimism about what’s to come.
That’s where we’ll start our takeaways.
The Patriots have a Drake Maye problem
Through three games, Drake Maye has six (!) interceptions and one of the worst fumbles lost you’ll see.
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His seven turnovers are the most in the league. He has just one touchdown pass. The offense has scored two touchdowns through three games, the fewest of any team in the league.
The quarterback whom many believed, this author included, would be back in the MVP conversation is killing the offense. He did so again Sunday, completing just 14-of-25 passes for 199 yards with no touchdowns, two interceptions, two fumbles and a lost fumble.
His turnovers directly led to 14 points for Jacksonville: the Jaguars scored a touchdown after his fumble in the first quarter and another after his interception in the third quarter. His turnovers also led to 10 points for Seattle in Week 1.
He is hurting the team right now. If the Patriots are going to get back on track, it starts with their quarterback.
“I’ve got to look myself in the mirror and take this as a turning point,” Maye said. “It’s Week 3. But at the same time, we’ve gotta have some fuel and realize that what we’re doing out there offensively is unacceptable. It’s been unacceptable for three weeks. It starts with myself.”
The run game is still looking for consistency
The Patriots’ run game was nonexistent on Sunday, totaling just 83 yards on 26 attempts (3.2 yards per carry).
Rhamondre Stevenson (seven carries for 22 yards) and TreVeyon Henderson (eight carries for 23 yards) combined for just 45 yards on 15 carries. Both had a long of five yards.
Henderson (39 yards) and Stevenson (24 yards) each had a big run in Week 2 against the Steelers, but outside of those two plays, the Patriots haven’t been able to get much going on the ground this season.
Credit is due to the Jaguars, who haven’t allowed a rusher to reach 75 yards in 20 straight games. But perhaps having any kind of life in the run game would help take some of the pressure off a struggling quarterback.
The Patriots might be allergic to momentum
Last week against the Steelers, the Patriots had six plays of 20-plus yards. On five of them, they immediately went backward. They turned the ball over after two and had a penalty after two others.
It was more of the same on Sunday.
On the first drive, Drake Maye hit Mack Hollins for a 21-yard gain on third down.
They followed that up with a one-yard rush by Henderson, two straight incompletions by Maye and a punt.
After Marcus Jones’ interception in the second quarter, Maye scrambled for a 21-yard touchdown that was called back because of a holding penalty on Morgan Moses. On the next play, with the Patriots facing 1st-and-20, Romeo Doubs was called for offensive pass interference, backing them up another 10 yards.
Suddenly, a drive that started at the Jacksonville 21 after Jones’ interception was facing 1st-and-30 from the Jacksonville 41.
In the fourth quarter, with the game already decided, the Patriots threw two straight incompletions from the Jacksonville 16 after a 34-yard pass to Kyle Williams.
The Patriots have had plenty of opportunities this season to build off momentum plays. They simply haven’t been able to capitalize.
The red zone woes continue
The Patriots were 0-for-3 on their trips to the red zone Sunday, with two field goals and an interception.
They were 0-for-1 in Week 2 against the Steelers and 1-for-2 in Week 1 against Seattle.
That means, through three games, they have scored just one touchdown on six red zone trips.
Not great.
The Jaguars dominated the line of scrimmage
Kevin Byard characterized the loss as an “old-fashioned ass-whooping.” That started up front at the line of scrimmage.
The Patriots’ run defense was gashed for 137 yards on 30 attempts (4.6 yards per carry). Their pass rush also struggled to generate much pressure on Trevor Lawrence, who was sacked just once for four yards.
On the other side of the ball, the offensive line had trouble creating holes in the run game and allowed Drake Maye to be pressured throughout the afternoon.
It was not a good day for the offensive line or the front seven.
The defense took a step back
After allowing just 16 points through the first two games of the season, the Patriots’ defense took a step back in Week 3.
They missed tackles, struggled to get off the field on third down (Jacksonville converted on eight of 12 third-down attempts, including a touchdown on 3rd-and-goal from the 17), and allowed the Jaguars to score touchdowns on all five of their trips to the red zone.
The offense did them no favors, stressing the defense with three turnovers, but the Patriots struggled to contain Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars, who totaled 315 yards and 35 points. The 35 points tied for the most the Patriots have allowed in the Vrabel era (35 vs. Buffalo on Dec. 14).
The Patriots are lacking discipline
The Patriots looked undisciplined on Sunday.
They committed nine penalties for 68 yards. They had three (!) neutral zone infractions, two of which came back-to-back.
How is that possible?
Mack Hollins, who is viewed as a leader on this team, also picked up a taunting penalty after catching a nine-yard pass on third-and-10. The Patriots would’ve had a chance to go for it on 4th-and-1 from the Jacksonville 7, but instead had to settle for a field goal while trailing by 25 points in the fourth quarter.
They also made some questionable decisions, including Kyle Williams fielding a kickoff at the 9-yard line on a ball that was going out of bounds, costing the Patriots 31 yards of field position.
The Patriots need to be more buttoned up.
The Patriots need more from their wide receivers
Remember all of that talk about the Patriots’ wide receiver depth? That has been nowhere to be found.
I get it, A.J. Brown was supposed to be the No. 1 wide receiver this team has been searching for, and he’s currently on IR. But outside of Mack Hollins, there has been no consistent chemistry between Maye and his pass catchers.
They need more from that group.
