The New England Patriots, after an encouraging but not totally convincing win against Pittsburgh in Week 2, fell back to earth against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3 - with a thud. The Jags demolished them, 35-6. The team that beat the Steelers at home last week didn't show up.
Several factors contributed to the team's dreadful showing in Jacksonville, but two on offense stand out. Josh McDaniels' vanilla offensive play-calling and Drake Maye's terrible execution of that amateurish play-calling were the chief culprits. Both were ghastly, and the score reflected it.
Coupled with an offensive line that can't pass or run, you've a prescription for disaster. It was a perfect storm that sank the Patriots' chances early and often in a game that should have been winnable.
The New England Patriots' offense has lost its way
After A. J. Brown went off against the Seahawks in Week 1, the offense's prospects with what remained were questionable. Any NFL team that loses its No. 1 and a top-three player on the roster will suffer as a result.
However, the reality since then is that the team's offense has sunk into an abyss. There are two overarching reasons why.
The New England Patriots play-calling remains amateurish and predictable
The Patriots' Offensive Coordinator (OC), Josh McDaniels, was never a good choice for that position with Drake Maye on hand. He was in Foxborough when Mike Vrabel arrived, and he kept him on, possibly because of owner Robert Kraft.
McDaniels enjoyed success with pocket passer Tom Brady at the helm (Mickey Mouse would have had similar success). But McDaniels is ill-equipped to run an offense with a quarterback with a completely different skill set than Brady.
Maye is a quarterback with outstanding mobility. It's a good thing that, in his first three seasons in Foxborough, he's been running for his life far too often because of poor offensive line play and lousy play-calling that can't fix it.
McDaniels is still trying to shoehorn Maye into a pocket quarterback role, à la Brady. It was a flawed strategy from the start. Kraft is no football expert, but Vrabel should have known better.
Finally, the football "experts" have started to question what should have been obvious from the outset: McDaniels was the wrong choice, at the wrong time, for the wrong young quarterback. He's tried to transform Maye into a pocket passer with no offensive line to protect him, and has failed to utilize Maye's most important asset - his ability and the threat of his ability to run.
There was actually a double fake and one designed quarterback run today. It was an amazing departure from the usual vanilla play-calling. It was also a total aberration. The fact is, McDaniels should be kicked upstairs into a cushy job beside his pal Kraft, and the offense should be handed to a coach who's experienced in using a dual-threat quarterback.
Drake Maye has to get back on track - and soon
The other major part of the dual-disaster today, and for most of the season, has been third-year quarterback Drake Maye. Maye is a terrific young talent, but the constant barrage of defenders in his face, and no concerted effort by the offensive coaching staff to fashion plays that mitigate that sad fact, have turned his 2026 season into an early disaster.
Yet, Maye shares a good part of the blame. He has consistently made bad decisions trying to fit balls into places he shouldn't. Against the Jaguars, he threw two more interceptions, and his season totals now stand at one touchdown pass and six interceptions after the first three 2026 games.
In addition, if it weren't so devastating, it would have been comical. A ball slipped from his hand as he tried to pass, and it wound up in the Jaguars' hands.
As some suspected, Maye has regressed in 2026, and even some of his most ardent supporters can't deny that fact. He's stunk the first three games, and if that doesn't change soon, it will be on to 2027 for Mike Vrabel and the Patriots.
If Vrabel is actually the Patriots' boss, he should make a major move now. He should move McDaniels out of the offensive coordinator position. Let Kraft find him a job upstairs. Meanwhile, he should either elevate an assistant to OC (if one knows how to use a dual-threat quarterback) or hire one. Absent that, expect more of the same pitiful performances.
It's a far cry from the Cinderella-like 2025 season. In 2026, the golden carriage has already turned into a pumpkin.
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