The Patriots got off to a good start on Sunday morning, building a 10-0 lead early but from the second quarter on, they got outscored 32-6 en route to an embarrassing 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Here are seven points on the game.
1. Started fast and fizzled: The Patriots got off to a hot start and it looked like they were going to run the Jaguars out of Wembley Stadium but after the first quarter, they fizzled in all three phases and were throughly dominated by Jacksonville. As soon as the tide turned, the Patriots seemingly threw in the white towel and called it a day.
2. Maye has a day: The only bright spot in the loss was Drake Maye who played pretty well. He had a favorable match-up against the league’s worst secondary and capitalized on it for most of the day. Maye completed 26-of-37 passes for 276 yards and 2 touchdown passes. He showed off his athleticism several times when things broke down and he had to take off. Maye also checked out of stuff at the line of scrimmage more this week which is another sign that he is developing and the staff trusts him more.
3. Another week, another O-line combination: The Patriots started their seventh different offensive line combination yesterday with Trey Jacobs at left tackle, Michael Jordan at left guard, Ben Brown at center, rookie Layden Robinson at right guard and Mike Onwenu at right tackle. The line up changed pretty quickly when Robinson got hurt and Sidy Sow came in. The Patriots bad luck along the offensive line continues.
4. Defense gets shredded: The defense got shredded last week by the Houston Texans and the Jaguars doubled up on them this week. Jacksonville finished with 364 yards of total offense, including 171 yards rushing. Not only are the Patriots playing poorly on defense, but they are fundamentally bad. They seem overmatched and out of position. The scheme is the same as the past. So what is the difference? No Bill Belichick. Belichick was better at adjusting and fixing some of the issues that came up, especially when guys got hurt. He’s not there anymore. The defensive staff lacks that veteran coaching voice.
5. Are the Patriots soft? Yes. Yes they are. Jerod Mayo was asked that question yesterday and his response was a bit defensive but definitive in many ways.
“I’m not sure. I mean, that’s something that I have to think about. We have a long flight back. ‘m not sure. It’s not like all of a sudden. we did something ditterent and now we’re a soft football team. It’s just the mentality that we got to get back in the guys.”
Based on the way they played yesterday, the Patriots are soft. They are not physically or mentally capable of overcoming adversity. Period!
6. Where’s the running game? The Patriots rushed for a measly 38 yards. That’s it! That won’t cut it. They need to be better. The running game is supposed to be a staple of this offense. It has disappeared in recent weeks. Alex Van Pelt and the offensive staff need to find a way to run the ball again.
7. Fractured team? After the game, veteran cornerback Jonathan Jones spoke to the team and challenged them. Defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale also made some interesting comments about guys on the defensive side of the ball.
“I feel like a lot of guys think too highly of themselves and have to check their egos …”
Kendrick Bourne also threw out this little tidbit. One has to wonder if it was a jab at teammate Christian Barmore and his latest incident or the younger guys on the team in general.
“(Make) personal decisions. Rather than staying up all night or eating whatever …”
Either way, the locker room is starting to come unglued. The Patriots need a win badly.