The Patriots’ season has been ugly from the jump, and the offense has been the main reason why. New England is 1-2, but the record only tells part of the story. Through three games, the Patriots have produced the league’s lowest offensive output, tied with the Dolphins for last, and the latest mess came in Week 3 when Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars lit them up for 35 points in a 29-point rout.
Drake Maye has been a major part of that frustration. He’s managed just one touchdown against six interceptions through three games, a sharp contrast to the eight touchdowns he threw across the entire regular season last year.
He’s looked uncomfortable, and even with A.J. Brown’s injury taking away a major threat, Maye has still appeared well out of his depth.
Amid all that chaos, though, one Patriots offensive lineman has quietly given the team something to point to: Jared Wilson.
Wilson earned a spot on PFF’s Week 3 Team of the Week after a clean performance against Jacksonville. He played 51 snaps and didn’t allow a pressure or commit a penalty, a strong response after a rough outing in Week 2 against Pittsburgh, when he gave up a 13.8% pressure rate against an excellent Steelers defensive line.
That uneven stretch is why Wilson’s season numbers need a little context. He’s allowed five total pressures so far, and four of them came in Week 2.
In 177 snaps at center, he hasn’t been penalized and hasn’t given up a sack. His 4.7% pressure rate on the season is still a little high, but it’s heavily skewed by that one bad game.
In his other two matchups, his pressure rate has been under 1.3%.
Against Jacksonville, Wilson’s work was good enough for an 75.6 overall grade and an 84.0 pass-blocking grade from PFF, a welcome bright spot in a season that has been short on them.
In Other News...
Bills Let Another AFC East Game Slip Away For One Reason
The Patriots walked out of Buffalo with a 29-26 win in a game that had plenty of the usual AFC East friction, plus a few swings that kept it from feeling settled until the final stretch. New England got touchdowns from Romeo Doubs and Efton Chism III, while Buffalo answered with a Josh Allen strike to Keon Coleman, and the game had the kind of back-and-forth edge that has made these matchups so hard to separate in recent years.
What stood out, though, was how often the Bills were able to lean on James Cook on the ground and still never fully take control of the game. Buffalo also had chances fueled by multiple Drake Maye turnovers, but the Patriots kept finding enough offense and enough answers to leave the division rival still searching for what slipped away in another one-possession AFC East result. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Bills Matchup Just Got More Complicated In The Secondary
The early weeks of the 2026 season have already tested New Englands depth, with A.J. Brown, Mike Onwenu, Christian Barmore and Christian Gonzalez all dealing with injuries. Now the Patriots are preparing for a divisional trip to Buffalo with another familiar layer of uncertainty in the secondary, even as the Bills are navigating some issues of their own on the back end.
Buffalo cornerback Christian Benford is unlikely to play, which adds another wrinkle to a matchup that already looked like it could turn on coverage and communication. For the Patriots, a game that might have been about establishing control in the AFC East now comes with more moving parts in the defensive backfields on both sides, and that could make Sunday feel a lot less predictable than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Defender Sounds Off After Patriots' Rivalry Statement Win
The Patriots 29-26 win over the Bills at Highmark Stadium had the feel of a statement game, and it came together with a late touchdown catch by Efton Chism after Drake Maye helped engineer the comeback. Maye threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns, giving New England a big road result in a rivalry game that had plenty of energy well before the final drive.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson had plenty to say afterward about the matchup and Chisms catch, adding a little postgame edge to a result the Patriots will happily take on the road. Mike Vrabel, meanwhile, pointed to Chisms work ethic and the way he performed in the spotlight, which only added to the sense that New England may have found a player it can trust in moments like this. [Read more 🡒]