The New England Patriots had their proverbial doors blown off in Week 3 by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and are now heading into a pivotal division battle with the Buffalo Bills facing more questions than answers. Standing above all of them is a simple one: how will they respond?
Despite now being 1-2 and coming off the worst loss of the Mike Vrabel era, there is optimism for a bounce-back.
“I have a lot of faith and confidence in everybody that is here. That is why they’re here,” said Vrabel himself
when talking to the media on Monday. “We have to continue to prepare and work with one another. The answers are here. The answers are in this building. We just have to do it much more consistently and continue to find ways to do it together.”
The biggest issue for the Patriots through three weeks has been their inability to finish drives, with Drake Maye the main culprit. The third-year quarterback has thrown six interceptions to just one touchdown and also lost a fumble.
Getting Maye back on track has to be the team’s top priority right now. However, the pressure will not just be on him, but the rest of the team as well come Sunday.
The 35-6 defeat in Jacksonville, after all, was a comprehensive one: offense, defense and special teams all failed to play up to their capabilities.
“It’s definitely a bounce-back week when it comes down to it,” said cornerback and team captain Marcus Jones. “It definitely challenges the situation of our leadership, captains and everything. We know what we have in the locker room and when it comes down to it, we have to stick together. We all know that. So, we are going to get back to practice, do the things that we need to do, and then go from there.”
Doing all that is easier said than done, especially with a game against the unbeaten Bills coming up. However, hope, or in this case a belief in the program, dies last in the New England locker room.
“I love this group,” added linebacker Christian Elliss. “We have a lot of playmakers. We have a lot of guys that have been in this position before. We’ll see. At the end of the day, you have to lace them up again and see what happens. But I know we’re going to respond.”
