What will it take for the New England Patriots to stop the bleeding this season? Sunday's lackluster showing during a 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars sounded the alarm for an offense that has produced only two touchdowns in a 1-2 start, amplified by quarterback Drake Maye's continued struggles from the pocket. Maye's six interceptions lead the NFL, and his career-low completion rate of 63.7% thus far has kept the Patriots out of rhythm and off schedule.
"My concern level is very high for this football team," Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. "When you come off a game like that, you just want to get back to work … We have to fix a lot of things." Maye had three turnovers against the Jaguars, including a fumble at Jacksonville's 35-yard line on New England's second possession after the football slipped out of his hands. TRAVIS HUNTER INT ALERT 🚨@NEvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/wILwED2EBi He was intercepted in the end zone by Travis Hunter on a third-and-goal opportunity from the two in the first half and later had an errant toss in the third quarter that led to a Jacksonville touchdown.
"We haven't made good decisions with the football," Vrabel said. "We have to get it fixed. We have to work and get it corrected.
And everybody else has to do much better, and it starts with me. That's how it goes … I need to get guys in there to do the things the way that we need them done. "There are going to be mistakes, but there are too many things that get us beat: turnovers and not taking advantage of (Jacksonville's) turnover opportunities." Maye was benched late in the game in favor of Tommy DeVito when it was evident confidence was waning for New England's starter.
"I think the ball starts rolling like that and we can't get out of our own way," Maye said. "Can't get out of my own way, personally. I've got to look at myself in the mirror and take this as a turning point.
It's Week 3, and at the same time we've got to have some fuel and realize that what we're doing out there offensively is unacceptable. It's been unacceptable for three weeks." The bevy of mistakes early this fall is uncharacteristic — and downright disturbing — for a player who finished runner-up in NFL MVP voting last season. "I think he knows what to do.
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