The New England Patriots took the kind of beating that puts the entire offseason in question in Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. A 35-6 shellacking under the Florida sun is enough to do that to even the toughest teams.
No, the Patriots aren't dead in the water with a 1-2 record through the first three games of the season. There is plenty of football left to play, and the team could still turn it around at any point. But there are growing concerns that they won't put it together.
The defense is expected to play perfect with multiple players out, and the offense is missing A.J. Brown in a year where they moved on from Patriots quarterback Drake Maye's favorite receiving targets, Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte. Throw in the fact that
Maye isn't playing with the same level of confidence and it's clear why even the most diehard of believers are shaking in their boots right about now.
Here are the studs and duds from the Patriots' Week 3 game:
DUD: QB Drake Maye
Drake Maye played arguably his worst game as a professional football player, throwing for 199 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions, while also losing a fumble. Every week, Maye stands in front of the media and talks about how the turnovers are unacceptable, and then he goes out there on a weekly basis and continues to turn the ball over. I am not saying people should give up on the potential for future greatness, but it might be time to start having some hard discussions about Maye.
DUD: Coach Mike Vrabel
The Patriots finished Sunday's game with nine total penalties. That is proof of a team that was completely undisciplined on both sides of the ball. It all comes down to coaching and execution. Maye struggling at quarterback is one thing, but the team didn't do itself any favors by continuing to ruin drives with bad penalties.
DUD: Offensive line
The run-blocking for the Patriots was disappointing in this matchup.
When a young quarterback is struggling, one way to calm things down is to run the football effectively. But there were no holes to run through for Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, who both spent the entire game running into a brick wall. The Patriots combined for 83 rushing yards on a 3.2 rushing average.
STUD: S Jaylen Reed
Patriots safety Jaylen Reed showed some great instincts on the back end of the defense on a day when the team was missing Craig Woodson. He got a hand in on a pass from Trevor Lawrence and deflected the ball into the hands of his teammate, Marcus Jones, for an interception. If there was a positive takeaway from the game, it's the fact that the Patriots got a defensive player in the Kayshon Boutte trade who flashes real potential.
STUD: WR Mack Hollins
Outside of a taunting penalty late in the game, Mack Hollins had a solid game against the Jaguars, leading the Patriots with six catches for 87 yards. With A.J. Brown out and Maye still struggling to find a connection with Romeo Doubs, Hollins took on the challenge of being the No. 1 receiver and stepped up when called on. However, the Patriots are clearly going to need more than Hollins to step up and spark life into the struggling offense.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Studs and duds from Patriots 35-6 blowout loss to Jaguars
