Stock Report: Drake Maye Flashes, Defense Collapses in Blowout Loss to Jags

For years, running the ball, stopping the run, and covering kicks have been the Patriots’ pillars of toughness. That philosophy hasn’t changed under head coach Jerod Mayo, but its execution has fallen off dramatically.

Following another blowout loss, this time a 32-16 beatdown at the hands of a flailing Jaguars team, Mayo bluntly acknowledged his team’s lack of toughness.

“We’re a soft football team across the board,” Mayo said during his postgame press conference. “You talk about what makes a tough football team – being able to run the ball, being able to stop the run, and being able to cover kicks. We did none of those today. They controlled the ball for most of the day.”

Those comments reflect how fans and pundits alike felt while stomaching another lackluster on-field product. After getting off to their first fast start since last season, New England simply couldn’t get out of its own way. A nightmarish 2nd quarter saw a 10-0 lead melt away into a 22-10 deficit by halftime.

The Patriots’ defense allowed just 10 points the rest of the game, and their offense showed faint signs of life late in the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to overcome the latest flurry of self-inflicted errors and poor execution.

Here’s whose stock is on the rise and whose is on the decline following New England’s fall in London.

STOCK UP 

Drake Maye

Drake Maye was far from perfect in London. Inaccuracy continues to be an issue, and he had multiple turnover-worthy plays despite not throwing a pick. All that said, this was another performance that showed why fans should be geeked about Maye’s potential.

Earlier this week, the rookie drew praise for scoring on New England’s defense during a “fast start” period. That translated to the field, where Maye used his arm, legs, and IQ to lead an 11-play opening touchdown drive. 

The Patriots’ next drive stalled due to a 3rd down incompletion in which both Maye and Bourne were at fault. Still, it lasted another 12 plays and drained six minutes from the clock.

The offense hit a wall following an avalanche of Jacksonville scores, but Maye showed his resilience with a 4th-quarter drive that featured multiple wow throws downfield.

Maye also led the offense with 18 rushing yards, though that was largely due to a second poor performance from the ground game. I don’t have the group listed as down for this game, largely because I want to check the film following another new front combo, but their performance was unacceptable.

There was plenty to build on for the second-time starter, but Maye’s output behind yet another new offensive line and with minimal DeMario Douglas (illness) was undeniably impressive. He’s a shining beacon of hope in what are currently stormy seas in New England.

Hunter Henry

Hunter Henry’s penalty (which I’ll touch on shortly) was a glaring blemish in an otherwise excellent receiving performance. 

The tight-end moved the chains on multiple 2nd & longs, and his impressive 32-yard gain on 3rd & 8 helped set up New England’s final scoring drive.  

Henry’s pre-snap discipline must improve moving forward. Still, he’s firmly in Drake Maye’s circle of trust and has been a valuable security blanket for the rookie.

STOCK DOWN

Coaching, Team Discipline

After a clean start to the season, the Patriots have been plagued by penalties for weeks. This is a bad look for the coaching staff, but especially for Mayo, who has acknowledged the issue after each performance. Most disappointingly, today’s breakdowns came from multiple team leaders.

Veterans Henry (false start), Kyle Dugger (defensive pass interference), and Jahlani Tavai (neutral zone infraction) all had costly penalties. Henry’s false start was his second in three weeks, with both coming in critical situations, and Tavai has been streaky all season. Mike Onwenu was also bailed out of a false start by K.J. Osborn’s touchdown on the ensuing 3rd & 15 snap. 

The only person who gets a pass is Douglas, who was flagged for a phantom illegal formation.

Adding to the disappointment, Deatrich Wise seemed to lose focus on a Trevor Lawrence scramble. This was the second week in a row where a mental lapse from the captain led to a big play.

Demontrey Jacobs is in a tough spot having to start as a developmental backup, so I don’t want to pick on the guy. Still, he was penalized for the third time in as many weeks, including his second straight game with a false start. 

The pass defense also allowed a touchdown on a miscommunication, and the punt team gave up a 96-yard score on an ugly, unit-wide breakdown.

“I saw guys getting out-leveraged, I saw a punt down the middle of the field–which is always difficult to cover–and, look [Bryce Baringer] has a strong leg. He out-kicked his coverage, and we weren’t disciplined in our lanes.”

There was one other glaring issue tjay reflected poorly on coaching and team discipline, but that deserves its own section. 

Run Defense 

In previous weeks, New England struggled against outside zone concepts that stretched them horizontally. They were also more inconsistent than porous, playing stout and gap-sound outside of a few costly lapses. 

Jacksonville ran downhill all morning, right into the teeth of the defense, and the Patriots couldn’t stop them despite knowing what was coming. Lopsided time of possession in the 2nd half may have played a factor, but nothing about their performance today was acceptable.

The Patriots allowed 171 yards on the ground for an average of 4.4 yards. This marked the defense’s fifth consecutive game allowing 130+ rushing yards and the third consecutive game allowing at least 170.

Tank Bigsby helped carry Jacksonville to three unanswered scores, including a 12-minute touchdown drive to start the 3rd quarter. The defense managed a 4th down low Red Zone stop on their next series, but only after Jacksonville went 84 yards in 17 plays and drained 11:24 off the clock.

Davon Godchaux has been calling out “selfish” teammates for weeks, and Mayo said on Wednesday that roster shakeups were coming. Linebacker Raekwon McMillan was largely replaced on early downs by Christian Elliss, and Joshua Uche played a season-low 11 snaps, but it wasn’t enough to stop the bleeding.

“Jerod just said (post-game) everybody gotta check their ego when they come in, and I agree with him,” defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale said after the game. “I feel like a lot of guys think too highly of themselves, and have to check their ego and come in and just play as a team. I feel like if we play as a team nobody can stop us.”

Ja’Lynn Polk

Earlier this week, Jerod Mayo said Ja’Lynn Polk needed to overcome a “mental hump” after multiple weeks of dropped passes and insufficient blocking. Polk vehemently pushed back against the comment, telling MassLive’s Mark Daniels he had “the best hands in the league” and critiquing his “limited” role in the offense. 

There’s no doubt Polk is an odd fit for the “X” receiver role he’s occupying. He’s neither big nor fast enough to win one-on-one outside consistently, especially against some of the league’s better corners. He’s better suited as a “Z” or slot, where he isn’t glued to the line of scrimmage and has more space to work with. 

However, Polk’s typically magnetic hands have reversed polarity in the past few weeks. His three targets in London wouldn’t have been easy grabs, including a sideline throw where he took a big hit, but at least two were catchable. The rookie also made an ominous post after the game, which he exited early with a concussion.

Kayshon Boutte has outperformed Polk for about a month, and the former has been rewarded with a starting role. Kendrick Bourne’s return has also cut into the rep share.

Between Polk’s recent comments and lack of execution in recent games, he could see his snap count begin to drop when healthy. If the rookie does see his role decrease, possible Boutte could see more snaps as the team’s ISO specialist.