If you were hoping to see the Patriots make a statement win against the Jaguars this week, you were not only sorely mistaken to think it could happen, but also brutally disappointed by how badly they fared in Jacksonville.
Despite a decent win over the Steelers in their home opener last week, the curse of Southern Florida was apparent on Sunday afternoon, as anything that could go wrong did for the Patriots, and they head into another road game next week against the Bills on the back of one of the most debilitating losses in recent memory.
The team looks lost, starting at the top with Drake Maye, who kept making some of the worst decisions possible that led to turnovers. On top of that, the piling up of frustrating penalties only made things worse, taking away plays that resulted in crucial first downs or a touchdown, just to be the cherry on top of an already bad day.
This inevitably puts a ton of pressure on the quarterback, but more so on Mike Vrabel to get this team in line for the rest of the season.
Based on what we've seen throughout his career, especially last season, Vrabel looks like a guy who can get it done. And from his immediate comments after the latest loss, he's clearly concerned but ready for the challenge that comes with getting it done.
Mike Vrabel is very concerned about the state of the Patriots after Week 3
In his first comments to reporters after the game, Vrabel said he is very concerned about the team right now, but hopes to help them improve and address their biggest issues.
That's an understatement.
#Patriots HC Mike Vrabel postgame:
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) September 27, 2026
“My concern level is very high for this football team. I just wanna coach and improve. I think that’s the biggest thing when you come off a game like that. You just wanna get back and work.”
(🎥 @Patriots) pic.twitter.com/qXHV9FdCON
Optimism about what this team can be is much lower than it was just a week ago, even though their win over the Steelers was far from perfect.
But the difference is that it looked like they could build on the most successful parts of their Week 2 performance, and this week there's not a whole lot of good to talk about.
The same thing could be said at this point last season, yet Maye didn't look like the player he has over the past three weeks. That might be the most concerning part of everything going wrong for the Patriots, and there's no clear answer on how to fix it.
It's going to take a lot of self reflection, practice, and making the right decisions to get things back on track, and hopefully, Vrabel will be the leader the team needs to make that happen.
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