The New England Patriots will look to build their first winning streak of the 2026 season. To do so, they will have to take down the Jaguars in Jacksonville.
Naturally, most of our attention this week was on that particular game. However, there is a lot going on at One Patriot Place these days, so let’s clean out the notebook.
Welcome to the latest edition of our Sunday Patriots Notes.
Starting fast
The Jacksonville Jaguars have turned EverBank Stadium into a difficult place to play under new head coach Liam Coen.
Jacksonville is 8-2 at home since Coen took over, with the Jaguars frequently establishing control early in games to put opposing teams in difficult positions.
“They play well at home,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “They’ve been getting great first half leads. I think they have been outscoring their opponents at home in that stadium by probably 10 points in the first half, so that’s something that really sticks out.”
The Jaguars did just that in their home opener this season against the Cleveland Browns. With the defense forcing two turnovers, Jacksonville opened up a 24-0 first-half lead to a 34-10 victory.
“They feast off turnovers. They’ve been creating turnovers and turning those into points,” Vrabel said. “From what I could tell from Cleveland, I think that there were 42,000 [fans], but they were into it, and they were loud for what it was recorded as from an attendance standpoint. So, I think that those fans are football fans. They crave football. Just like us, if they give them reasons to cheer, they’ll be loud.”
As the Patriots get set to kick off in Jacksonville this Sunday, avoiding a similar early deficit will be critical.
New England appeared to be on its way to a fast start last week against the Steelers. Drake Maye found DeMario Douglas and Hunter Henry for completions on the opening drive, quickly moving the ball across midfield.
But after Maye passed up an open Eli Raridon down the field and checked the ball down to Rhamondre Stevenson in the flat, Stevenson fumbled, ending the drive with a turnover.
“I feel like we had a good jump last week of starting fast and had a chance right there to make a big play. We ended up having a turnover on the first possession,” Maye said. “So, I think one of the biggest things for us is starting fast, especially for myself.”
Starting fast in Jacksonville will require Maye to find completions early and take what the defense gives him while remaining aggressive when opportunities arise. Decisiveness has been a key point of emphasis when discussing the quarterback’s struggles to open the season, and Maye knows the Patriots need to capitalize when there are opportunities to push the ball downfield.
With warm conditions — Maye’s preference — and a Jacksonville defensive front that has not been as dominant as the ones New England faced against Seattle and Pittsburgh, Sunday could provide an opportunity for Maye and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to get the offense moving in the right direction.
“I think how we play and our mentality and going down there and trying to get off to a good start is going to be the most important,” McDaniels said. “Then trying to play the game for 60 minutes and have no big letdowns in the game.”
Jacksonville environment
Current forecasts in Jacksonville project the temperature to just be in the low to mid 80s at kickoff on Sunday with humidity levels around 40%. Josh McDaniels noted the team’s experience in Miami early last season will be something they can rely on as they will also have to rely on their depth more this week. His quarterback, however, looks forward to playing in the warm conditions.
And after Jacksonville opened up 1,000 standing room only tickets for the game, Mike Vrabel is expecting a noisy environment.
“It sounded like they were into it against Cleveland, and they certainly got off to a good start and gave them something to cheer about,” Vrabel said. “We’ll have to always be prepared for the environment and make sure that all our cadences are sound and ready to go.”
Question marks
The Patriots listed both safety Craig Woodson (shoulder) and tight end Eli Raridon (thigh) as questionable for Sunday’s game.
Woodson appears to be trending in a positive direction after practicing in a limited fashion on Friday, although the team did elevate safety Mike Brown from the practice squad. Brown will be a candidate to fill in for Dell Pettus (injured reserve) as the personal protector and depth behind/in place of Woodson.
As for Raridon, the rookie appears to be trending in the wrong direction after not practicing on Thursday and Friday. If Raridon is ultimately inactive, undrafted tight end Tanner Arkin will likely be back on the game day roster while Cameron Latu, who played 14 snaps in relief last Sunday, will assume the role behind Hunter Henry.
Chicken wings
Drake Maye hasn’t played to his usual standard through two games. That’s why he’s seen pictures of chicken wing bones on the screen in the Patriots QB room.
“He’s someone that wants to chase perfection, and I think that is good,” QBs coach Ashton Grant said. “And I like try to feed into that a little bit because there’s always a little bit more meat on the bone. We joke around with, like chicken wings, and if you guys ever eat wings, and people throw them away, and there’s a little bit of meat left.
“I try to show him pictures of bare bones of the meat just to be like, ‘there’s always more for us to do’.”
Defending Lawrence
Coaching the Tennessee Titans in the AFC South, Mike Vrabel often matched up against Trevor Lawrence. Ahead of Week 3, Vrabel noted the quarterback is more decisive and comfortable than he was early in his career and how opposing defenses can no longer count on Lawrence turning the football over.
The Patriots will still look to force Lawrence into some mistakes on Sunday, and sticking with the blitz may be the best path. Lawrence currently ranks 27th out of 32 qualified quarterbacks in EPA vs. the blitz to go along with two turnover worthy throws.
Jaguars skill group
Lawrence operates in an offense loaded with skill talent around him. While the team drafted Brian Thomas Jr. in the first-round in 2024 and traded for old friend Jacob Meyers last season, wide receiver Parker Washington is the straw that stirs the drinks.
On the year, Washington’s 36.7% target share trails only Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
“He’s crushing it right now. He’s a great player,” defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr said.
In the backfield, second-year running back Bhaysul Tuten has taken the lead role in Liam Coen’s West Coast offense. Tuten’s home-run ability is apparent, as he leads the league in runs over 15+ MPH with 12 — three more than Jahmyr Gibbs — and is third among qualified running backs in missed tackles forced.
“He’s just got great contact balance, but he’s fast. I think he stretches and cuts. I think he’s got excellent vision. I think he runs hard, runs behind his pads,“ Vrabel said. ”I think the speed probably’s the biggest factor.“
OLB check-in
After placing rookie Quintayvious Hutchins on injured reserve, the Patriots 53-man roster features just four outside linebackers: Dre’Mont Jones, Elijah Ponder, Gabe Jacas, and Jose Ramirez.
With Jones (shoulder) out for Sunday, Ponder and Jacas will be relied upon heavily with Ramirez joining the rotation after signing from the practice squad this week.
“He has been a really good practice player for us. I think he has improved since the time he has been here,” Vrabel said of Ramirez. “Multiple times being recognized by taking the reps that we talk about being on the show team and using those to his advantage. So, there will be an opportunity, we’ll see, for him to be able to help us this week when we get down to the 48-man roster.”
End of half
Through two games, Mike Vrabel and VP of game strategy and operations John Streicher have had some questionable end-of-half decisions.
In Seattle, the Patriots’ defense recorded a third-down stop at the 22-yard line with 12 seconds remaining. Despite having one timeout left, Vrabel elected to let the clock run out rather than give Marcus Jones a chance to return a punt or attempt to go-all out for a block. Against Pittsburgh, the Patriots were penalized for a delay of game after Vrabel called a consecutive timeout following an automatic injury timeout, giving the Steelers five free yards.
“I blew it,” Vrabel later admitted.
End-of-half situations were a strength for the Patriots last season, and they’ll need better execution moving forward with games against high-scoring offenses in Jacksonville and Buffalo.
“That was one of the best things, I felt like, last year that we did, whether getting points or ending with the football,” Maye said. “That’s definitely an emphasis: to play good football and try to “double up” as they call it. So, that’s definitely something that we try to be mindful of and know that’s the best way to kind of finish off the half.“
Leadership
Asked who are some of the best leaders he’s every been around, Christian Gonzalez provided three answers: Drake Maye, Ja’Whaun Bentley, and Stefon Diggs. He provided more detail about his current and more recent former teammate:
Drake Maye: “Drake is a really good leader. He’s found his voice very fast. I feel like he’s found his voice and everybody in the locker room respects it. We lean on him and we go as he goes.”
Stefon Diggs: “Stef was real cool to see how he leads and how he operates. That was a real cool person to be around and just learn how he used his voice in a different way. Just from playing the game for so long but also his progression as he was older. He wasn’t all to himself like the media portrayed, that was cool to see how he was last year.”
Gonzalez went on to state a good leader is one who is authentic and genuine, while someones performance on the field can also elevate them into that role. That route by example is the camp he finds himself in the most.
“I appreciate the fact that he’s making people around him better through communication, alerts and awareness. And I think you need that,“ Vrabel said of his cornerback. ”Your best players have to be able to make the people around them better, and I think he’s done that.“
Week ahead
The Patriots will hope the Nor’Easter does not impact their travel home from Jacksonville following the game. If there are no delays, they will be in their typical regular season mode.
This means Mike Vrabel media availability on Monday, off-day on Tuesday, and three straight practices plus injury reports from Wednesday through Friday. The team will then hold a final walkthrough on Saturday before traveling to Buffalo for a 1 p.m. ET game with the Bills.
