Romeo Doubs arrived in New England with big expectations and a $68 million contract, but his first night in a Patriots uniform turned into a rough one in Seattle.
The wideout finished Wednesday’s season opener against the Seahawks without a catch on three targets, and the low point came in the fourth quarter. With the Patriots clinging to a chance at the finish, Doubs couldn’t haul in a throw from Drake Maye and instead helped turn the ball over to Seattle. That sequence fed directly into a night that unraveled for New England in the closing stretch.
Maye, who was already under fire for a three-interception fourth quarter, put the responsibility on himself after the loss. “I just stopped being patient,” Maye said of his three-interception stretch in the fourth quarter.
“I think that’s a big thing. We were really good up to the point where I tried to force one down the sideline to Romeo - where we were patient and dumping it off and trying to move the chains, and we avoided a lot of 3-and-outs.
… Just stopped being patient and made decisions that ended up costing us the game.”
Doubs didn’t try to dodge the criticism. After the game, he said, “I just wasn't locked in enough.
That's all. I mean, the video speaks for itself.”
He added later, “That had nothing to do with Drake,” Doubs said. “That was 150 percent on me.
… Just, I just wasn’t locked in enough. That’s all.
I mean, the video speaks for itself.”
His first target didn’t come until just over 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, when Maye launched a deep ball into double coverage. The throw was tipped after Doubs couldn’t bring it in, and Nehemiah Pritchett came away with the interception for Maye’s first turnover of the night. Maye said afterward that the play was on him for targeting Doubs when he was already covered by two Seahawks defenders.
The second chance was cleaner, and the miss stung more. After Jaxon Smith-Njigba tied the game at 10-10 with a 45-yard touchdown, Maye rolled out on second-and-14 from the Patriots’ 22 and found Doubs alone downfield.
A catch there would have given New England a major gain and likely moved the offense across midfield. Instead, Doubs bobbled it to the turf, killing the chance for a chunk play.
The very next snap brought another mistake from Maye, who tried to force a pass over the middle to DeMario Douglas on third-and-14 and was picked off by Julian Love. Seattle then cashed in with a 26-yard Jason Myers field goal to take a 13-10 lead it never gave back.
Even with the ugly debut, Doubs made clear he still believes in his quarterback. “We got all the confidence in the world in Drake,” Doubs said postgame. “He’s our guy.”
He doubled down on that sentiment later, saying, “I have the utmost confidence in him,” Doubs said of Maye. “I know what he can do.
I’ve watched what he’s done in this league a long time … this doesn’t define him. It’s just this league.
It’s always a pendulum in this league.”
Doubs also acknowledged the bigger picture after a game that slipped away late. “I mean, it’s always disappointing to lose in this league,” Doubs said postgame.
“No one likes to lose. I don’t like to lose.
… I’ve just got to be better moving forward.”
And after a debut that never got off the ground, he left no doubt about where he sees the responsibility. “Part of my job as a player is to make this team better, and I’ll be better moving forward,” Doubs noted.
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