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JACKSONVILLE – It sounds blasphemous considering where we were just seven months ago, but the New England Patriots have a serious Drake Maye problem.

Maye turned the ball over three times, throwing two interceptions and fumbling once in an ugly 35-6 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday.

Maye is arguably the sole reason why the Patriots are 1-2 with a daunting road test against Buffalo looming next Sunday.

“My concern level is very high for this football team,” Mike Vrabel bluntly said postgame. “I just want to coach and improve. So, I think that’s the biggest thing when you come off a game like that. You just want to get back and work. There’s nothing you can do about it, but we have to take care of the football. We can’t force things. We can’t do things in all three phases that end up getting you beat.

“We certainly have to fix a lot of things.”

Maye finished the day 14-25 for just 199 yards without a touchdown and the two picks. He also had four rushes for 18 yards and fumbled twice, losing one. As a team, New England rushed for just 83 yards combined.

“I’ve got to look myself in the mirror and take this as a turning point,” Maye said postgame. “It’s Week 3, but at the same time, you’ve got to have some fuel and realize that what we’re doing out there is unacceptable and it’s been unacceptable for three weeks.

“I’ve got to start with myself and lead these guys and we’ve got to get back after it.”

In fairness, the defense didn’t do much either on Sunday, allowing five touchdowns in five red zone trips for the Jaguars. Jacksonville also had 137 yards rushing. Safety Kevin Byard bluntly called it “an old-fashioned ass-whooping.”

The first nightmare turnover for Maye came during an ugly 0-0 first quarter, with Maye dropping back for a pass and having the ball completely slip out of his hands looking for Kyle Williams deep, allowing the Jags to fall on it.

“The first one Jared (Wilson) happened to be bleeding on his hand and got the football, was trying to put one to Kyle and slipped out of my hand,” Maye explained.

A Josh Cameron 12-yard touchdown grab with 13:25 left in the second made it 7-0 Jags. After trading punts, Marcus Jones came up with a tip-drill interception, setting the Pats up with a golden opportunity at the Jacksonville 21. A 21-yard TD run by Maye was wiped out thanks to a hold on Morgan Moses and another flag quickly made it 1st-&-30 from the 41. That sequence ultimately led to a 35-yard field goal from Andy Borregales.

Another easy nine-play, 65-yard drive for the Jags ended with old friend Jakobi Myers hauling in a 10-yard TD to make it 14-3 with 4:23 left in the half.

On the ensuing Pats drive, Maye found Pop Douglas for a 38-yard hookup, but missed him two plays later for a wide open touchdown. Eventually, looking at 1st-&-goal from the five-yard line, Maye had another inexcusable turnover in the end zone, forcing a ball to Efton Chism while covered by Travis Hunter.

The Jags nearly took a 17-3 lead into the locker room, but Cam Little just missed what would have been a record-setting 71-yard field goal wide right.

It went from bad to worse early in the third as New England chewed up the first five minutes, but Borregales missed a 38-yard field goal wide right. Jacksonville made it 21-3 late in the third on a Parker Washington 17-yard touchdown that followed two third down pickups by Myers.

On the first snap after the kickoff, Maye was picked off again. One play later, Chris Rodriguez punched in a five-yard TD to make it 28-3 heading to the fourth.

Borregales hit a 40-yard field goal in the first two minutes of the fourth, but a Bhayshul Tuten one-yard touchdown with eight minutes left sealed it. Maye was benched for Tommy DeVito in the final seven-plus minutes.

So, now what?

There’s still 14 games remaining, but if the MVP-runner up from a year ago continues to play like a rookie, this is going to be a very, very long season.

“I’m going to commit to improving this football team and the guys we have here,” added Vrabel. “I think it’s one day at a time. It’s about what we can do to get healthy, what we can do to improve individually and as a football team. That’s all we can do.

“It’s going to start with me and my ability to teach, my ability to get the guys in the right spots and then also have a practice plan that I feel like gives us the best chance to be ready on Sunday.”