Jacksonville, Fla. – The Patriots’ trip to the Sunshine State ended in a 35-6 loss to the Jaguars at EverBank Stadium on Sunday.
During training camp, the conversation around the Patriots focused on concerns about their roster depth. Mike Vrabel told reporters after a preseason week against the Eagles that “I don’t think we have a very strong team,” in response to questions about why the Patriots head coach rested his starters throughout the preseason. Vrabel did not believe the risk of injury to his frontline players outweighed the reward of getting live reps in exhibition games, so quarterback Drake Maye and most of the starters did not play during the preseason.
On Sunday, New England underwent its first “deep test” in Jacksonville. The Patriots played without star WR AJ Brown, starting RG Mike Onwenu, leading rusher Dre’Mont Jones, starting S Craig Woodson and promising rookie TE Eli Raridon. Brown and Onwenu are on injured reserve with ankle injuries, with the former eyeing a return in 6-8 weeks. Joining them on injured reserve are Dell Pettus and Quintayvious Hutchins, further emphasizing the depth of the defense. Then Onwenu’s replacement (Greg Van Roten) got injured during the match.
Well, the final score speaks for itself: The Patriots weren’t too competitive against the Jaguars, but the bigger picture isn’t just about depth issues. I’ve been reluctant to hit the panic button, and it’s still early in the season with plenty of time to turn things around, but it’s fair to be concerned for quarterback Drake Maye and the Patriots after a 1-2 start, as head coach Mike Vrabel said candidly after the game.
“My level of concern is very high for this football team,” Vrabel said after the game. “I just want to practice and get better. I think that’s the most important thing when you come out of a game like that. You just want to come back and work.”
Maye turned the ball over three more times on Sunday to bring his season total to seven giveaways in three games (and it could have been more). Maye doesn’t see the field well and doesn’t seem decisive in any of his decisions. Even his downfield successes make it seem like he doesn’t always know what type of ball to throw, and he compounds bad plays by making ill-advised throws in coverage (see Travis Hunter’s interception before halftime). You wish you could get to the bottom of Maye’s struggles beyond trying to crawl inside the third-year pro’s head, but we’ll have to settle for what the Pats QB said after the game.
“We can’t get out of our own way and I can’t get out of my own way, personally. I have to look in the mirror and take this as a turning point. It’s Week 3,” Maye said after Sunday’s loss. “What we are doing offensively is unacceptable.”
We’ll go into some detail about how things went south, but this is a game where you have to see the forest for the trees. New England hasn’t done anything well enough to be competitive. The Jags’ offense also averaged over 5.3 yards per play and was much better than the Pats’ defense in situational football, finishing 8 of 12 on third down and 5-5 in the red zone. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and his staff have a lot of work to do, with a game against the Bills looming next week – it can’t get easier.
Here are eight takeaways from the Patriots’ Week 3 loss to the Jaguars that dropped them to 1-2.
1. Quarterback Drake Maye struggles with several turnover-worthy plays against the Jaguars
The Patriots need to get their young quarterback right and quickly or the season will slip away from them before star WR AJ Brown returns to hopefully save the day later in the year.
While it’s fair to point out a depleted supporting cast with Brown having become Maye’s go-to receiver, this goes beyond play calls and an injury to Brown. According to my live graph, Maye had four turnover-worthy plays: two interceptions, a dropped interception (wouldn’t have counted due to a penalty), and a lost fumble. In box scoring, Maye finished 14 of 25 for 199 passing yards, two interceptions and a lost fumble. From that perspective, it’s equally discouraging to watch Maye struggle with his GPS to know which balls to throw when targeting receivers downfield.
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