The New England Patriots are on a slippery slope toward the bottom of the AFC East, with a 1-2 record, and are headed to Buffalo for probably another loss. Only the truly pitiful Dolphins are lower in the AFC East at 0-3.
Even worse, the franchise's hope, Drake Maye, has become a mistake-prone catalyst for the slide to the bottom. The pass blocking stinks, the running game is poor, and the question is: what can offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels do to get Maye back on track?
Maye has thrown only one touchdown pass in three games with six interceptions. That turnover ratio is made worse by Maye's own fumbling. He has two fumbles in 2026, and a whopping 10 since the beginning of 2025.
If it weren't so damaging to the team, the ball that slipped out of Maye's hands on an erstwhile pass play against Jacksonville would have been downright comical.
The Patriots travel to Buffalo in Week 4. Expectations should be minimal against the high-flying Bills and Josh Allen. Absent a miraculous turnaround, a 1-3 record is the likely outcome. The Patriots' season is quickly spiraling out of control.
The question is: can Josh McDaniels fix Maye, and how?
The Patriots offensive system is broken and needs a total overhaul
Questions arose when Josh McDaniels was hired by Mike Vrabel to run the Patriots' offense in 2025. For years, McDaniels had drop-back passer Tom Brady, the best. Maye is not Brady, nor is he a pure drop-back passer. His skill set is the polar opposite. He's a dual-threat quarterback with outstanding mobility.
That's why the hiring of McDaniels in the first place was debatable.
A valid question was: Is McDaniels the right coach to manage Maye's continued development as a dual-threat QB, or will he try to shoehorn him into a Brady-style offense? He's tried the latter.
McDaniels flopped in his other attempt to utilize a dual-threat quarterback, when he had Cam Newton after Brady headed south to Tampa Bay in 2020. The issue he had then, and still does now, is the predictability of his play-calling and lack of deception.
He mismanaged Newton as he's mismanaging Maye now. Simply stated, McDaniels's system is the wrong one for the wrong quarterback.
The Patriots' offense is totally predictable and it's crushing their chances
Predictability is akin to handing NFL defenses a gift-wrapped Christmas present every week before the first frost even arrives. Trying to refashion Maye into a drop-back Brady-like quarterback was wrong from the get-go.
They're totally different quarterbacks in style. McDaniels with Brady made a drop-back passing game work (who couldn't?), but the flaws in his similar approach with Maye are now exposed for the entire NFL to see.
Seeing a double fake on one play and an actual programmed quarterback run against Jacksonville was stunning. Unfortunately, trying that run near the end zone was the wrong call. Regardless, only desperation seems to have pushed McDaniels to try some deception in his play-calling.
The Patriots seldom employ deception, and they don't even use play-action enough. It's a flaw that's wrecking the season, a nd a new approach,-maximizing Maye's mobility,-is essential.
The absence of an offensive line that can neither pass block nor run block has also exacerbated the situation. They were terrible at both in 2025, and far too little was done in the offseason to improve the situation.
Now, with a far more difficult 2026 schedule, the issues masked by playing patsies in 2025 and by Maye's uncanny scrambling skills have been exposed by better coaches, better teams, and far stronger defenses.
Deficiencies in the play-calling, the offensive line's inability to pass-protect and open holes for the backs, and a now shell-shocked Maye are the crux of why the 2026 Patriots' offense has fallen flat on its face.
Absent McDaniels totally revamping his play-calling and a trade or two for more talented offensive linemen, little will likely remedy the fundamental deficiencies in the 2026 Patriots' offense. A fully healthy return of A.J. Brown would help, but we may not see that in 2026.
Making these major changes is solely Mike Vrabel's responsibility. Unless he makes those tough calls, Patriot Nation shouldn't expect much better.
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