There is no sugar-coating it, the New England Patriots were bad against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Offense, defense and special teams all contributed to a 35-6 loss that was never really in question.
With that said, here is a Patriots-centric view at some of those key moments from the game.
Moment No. 1: Slipped away
Turnovers were the Patriots’ biggest issue entering Week 3, and the ball security issues reared their ugly head again in the late first
quarter. Dropping back with no pressure near him, Drake Maye had the ball slip out of his right hand the moment he wanted to deliver it deep to Kyle Williams. The fumble landed right at the feet of Jaguars defensive lineman DaVon Hamilton, who recovered it for the game’s first decisive play.
Instead of the Patriots being in field goal range, they found themselves in a 7-0 hole 10 plays later.
Moment No. 2: Missed opportunity
Down 14-3 in the late second quarter, the Patriots managed to move the ball deep into Jaguars territory. However, they had only modest gains on their first two goal-to-go plays. Facing a third down from the 2, disaster struck once again: Maye attempted to hit Efton Chism toward the back-line of the end zone, but cornerback Travis Hunter was the player to actually come down with the football.
The Patriots had a chance to seriously put pressure on the Jaguars by scoring immediately before and after the half. Instead, they came away with zero points due to the interception and a subsequent missed field goal in the third quarter.
Moment No. 3: Defensive collapse
Despite turning the ball over two times and not finding the end zone on any of their red zone trips up until that point, the Patriots were still down only two scores in the late third quarter. Had they gotten a stop on a 3rd-and-17, it would have stayed that way. However, Trevor Lawrence and Parker Washington got the better of Marcus Jones for the score — one that effectively put the game out of reach.
Moment No. 4: Nail in the coffin
The Patriots were in desperation mode after the Jaguars’ third touchdown, but instead of them fighting their way back into the game started to unravel. Drake Maye threw his second interception when he tried to connect with Kyle Williams on a curl route to his left. However, the ball again landed with a defender who almost took it back to the end zone for a pick-six. Maye prevented that outcome, but Jacksonville simply scored on its very next play to go up 28-3.
Moment No. 5: Exemplary penalty
The game was very much out of reach for New England in the early fourth quarter. Still, a touchdown could at least have made things interesting again and given the team some positive vibes. That did not happen, though, in part due to Mack Hollins getting flagged for taunting after catching a 9-yard pass on 3rd-and-10 while down 25 points. The penalty prevented a makable 4th-and-1 and instead forced the Patriots to kick a field goal.
On a day of bad football in all three phases, this moment perfectly summed everything up.
