Drake Maye’s early-season stumble has turned into the biggest problem hanging over the Patriots’ offense, and Sunday’s 35-6 loss in Jacksonville only made the picture look worse.
New England dropped to 1-2 after getting steamrolled by the Jaguars, and for the first time in more than two seasons the Patriots failed to score a touchdown in a loss. Maye was at the center of it. He gave the ball away three more times: a sack-fumble late in the first quarter, a high throw from the Jaguars’ 2 that Travis Hunter picked off in the end zone before halftime, and another interception late in the third quarter that helped set up a Jacksonville red zone touchdown.
That sequence was brutal. It amounted to a 21-point swing in a game the Patriots lost by 29, and Maye was taken out in the fourth quarter before the damage could grow even more.
The numbers are starting to pile up fast. Maye is already at seven turnovers this season after finishing last year with 11 in what was otherwise a sophomore breakout that helped push the Patriots to the AFC championship. He now leads the NFL with six interceptions, and he’s already at three-fourths of his 2025 interception total of eight.
That kind of ball security would have changed the shape of the season already. The Week 1 loss in Seattle ended 13-10, and Jacksonville was never close after the turnovers started stacking up. The Patriots’ Week 2 win over Pittsburgh, meanwhile, came with help from a defense that made big plays of its own.
So what’s driving the mess? A few things are feeding into it.
For one, Maye is still getting hit too often. He was sacked 47 times last season, and through three games this year he has already been dropped nine times.
The protection hasn’t cleaned itself up, and neither has his feel for what’s coming. His athleticism helps him avoid the worst of the punishment, but it also hasn’t stopped him from speeding up his throws and looking less settled in the pocket.
He also doesn’t have a steady target he can lean on. Mack Hollins shouldn’t be the Patriots’ most productive receiver, but that’s where things are headed with Stefon Diggs gone to Washington and A.J.
Brown sidelined. Hollins and Romeo Doubs are more downfield options, while Demario Douglas and Kyle Williams haven’t been consistent enough underneath.
The Patriots also haven’t gotten enough from Hunter Henry and the tight ends. Maye has leaned too hard on the deep-ball success that worked so well for him last season.
The contrast with 2025 is sharp. Maye completed 72 percent of his passes and averaged 8.9 yards per attempt last year.
Entering Jacksonville, he was at 67.3 percent and 7.0 yards per attempt. Against the Jaguars, he finished at 56 percent.
Brown was supposed to help solve that problem, giving Maye a true No. 1 target who could matter on third down, in the red zone and vertically. But Brown’s high ankle sprain from Week 1 has left the Patriots without that answer, and he won’t be back until at least late October.
That leaves Josh McDaniels needing to adjust before Maye starts forcing more mistakes.
The run game hasn’t done him enough favors either. New England ran 26 times for 83 yards against Jacksonville, just 3.2 yards per carry.
In Week 1 against Seattle, the Patriots ran 31 times for 109 yards, a 3.5-yard average. The best ground performance came in the Week 2 win over Pittsburgh, when the Patriots gained 136 yards on 28 carries and got long runs from TreyVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson.
McDaniels has stayed committed to balance, but the offense needs more from the ground game to take pressure off Maye and help the line settle in. Right now, if opponents can shut down the run, New England can be handled.
The schedule hasn’t exactly been soft, either. Seattle, Pittsburgh and Jacksonville have all brought playoff-level defenses, with pass rush and coverage talent that can squeeze an offense.
Buffalo is next, and that defense has its own pressure-and-takeaway mentality under new coordinator Jim Leonhard, even if the Bills have problems stopping the run. After that, the Patriots get the Raiders and Jets at home, both teams that have improved against the pass.
The clearest relief may not come until Weeks 7 and 8, when New England goes on the road for back-to-back games against the Bears and Dolphins.
For now, the Patriots need Maye to look much more like the quarterback they had last season. If they don’t get that version soon, the early shot at repeating as AFC East champions could disappear before the schedule ever really opens up.
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