Drake Maye debuts, O-line implodes and 3 other takeaways from Patriots’ loss to Jets
Drake Maye's NFL debut was one of the few positive developments on a miserable night at MetLife Stadium.
The Patriots’ took several steps back in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Seahawks.
On Thursday, things managed to get even worse for a New England offense tilting towards a total breakdown.
New England’s lone primetime matchup of the 2024 season offered few positives for Jerod Mayo’s team — with the Patriots falling to the Jets, 24-3, at MetLife Stadium.
It was an ugly day for the Patriots’ laboring offense, with New England generating just 139 total yards — with New York holding a 252-40 edge in yardage at halftime.
Jacoby Brissett completed 12 of 18 passes for just 98 yards , while DeMario Douglas reeled in seven catches for 69 yards. The one noteworthy result on that side of the ball came with 4:24 left in regulation, as rookie Drake Maye made his NFL debut in garbage time.
While New England’s offensive woes weren’t necessarily a surprise entering Thursday night, the Patriots’ banged-up defense also struggled against Aaron Rodgers and the Jets. Rodgers completed 27 of his 35 passes attempts for 281 yards and two touchdowns, while New York totaled 400 total yards and 27 first downs.
With the loss, New England falls to 1-2 on the season.
Here are five takeaways from Thursday’s defeat in the Meadowlands.
Offense continues to regress
Just how dreadful was New England’s offense on Thursday?
The Patriots’ top play down the field was 34 yards — gained off of a defensive pass interference penalty drawn by Tyquan Thornton. Had it not been for a 12-yard reception by Douglas at the end of the first half, New England would have entered halftime with -1 net passing yards.
For all of the talk of New England needing to get the ball down the field after Sunday’s loss in Foxborough, the Patriots’ passing game was once again grounded by the Jets — due in large part to New England’s dreadful pass protection.
Brissett was far from perfect, including a brutal miss on a play-action sequence where he missed Austin Hooper for what should have been a nice gain. But the veteran QB is far from the primary reason why New England’s offense is inching closer and closer to a complete breakdown.
With the Jets building themselves a 14-0 lead out of the gate, New England’s greatest strength on offense (the run game) was quickly negated, and the Patriots’ inefficient passing led to several short drives.
The start of the second half might have said it all. Trailing by 11 points coming out of halftime, New England opened the third quarter with a 3-and-out, gaining just six yards and using up 1:32 of the clock.
The Jets’ subsequent drive? 11 plays, 66 yards, 7:10 of clock, and a two-yard TD catch from Garrett Wilson with Christian Gonzalez in coverage.
New York finished Thursday’s game with 40:04 of time of possession. New England? Just 19:56.
Drake Maye enters game
With just 4:24 left on the clock and New York holding a commanding 24-3 lead, Maye made his NFL debut to close things out.
Things got off to a shaky start, as the third-overall pick was nearly intercepted by Michael Carter on his first pass over the middle. But Maye put together one of New England’s few promising drives — gaining four first downs before time expired.
Maye completed four of his eight passes for 22 yards, while also rushing twice for 12 yards. Far from a surprise, but he was also sacked twice in his lone drive.
Now the question is: Will Maye get the starting nod in Week 4 against the 49ers?
A banged-up O-line continues to struggle
The writing was on the wall for days that New England’s O-line was in for a long night.
With Sidy Sow missing his third straight game and starting left tackle Vederian Lowe out with a knee injury, New York’s pass-rushing corps headlined by Quinnen Williams and Will McDonald were primed for a big night.
Sure enough, it was yet another day on the gridiron where Brissett (and later, Maye) were mangled behind some putrid pass protection. In total, New England’s QBs were sacked seven times — with the Jets adding another 15 QB hits.
With Lowe out and Chukwuma Okorafor no longer with the team, New England had to turn to rookie Caedan Wallace to step in at left tackle — with the young lineman laboring throughout the game.
On a night where Brissett was either driven into the turf or given little time to scan the field, the most frustrating sequence might have come in the third quarter during one of the few promising drives for New England.
After Brissett hit Douglas for 22 yards and then gained another 19 off a TE screen to Hooper, New England found itself on the Jets’ 23-yard line.
But David Andrews and Wallace were then whistled for three straight holding calls — with the first one committed by Wallace negating a critical conversion by Brissett and Hooper that would have put the ball on the two-yard line.
Add in a 12-yard sack on a 3rd-and-23, and New England ended the drive outside of field-goal range.
To make matters worse, both Wallace and left guard Michael Jordan didn’t finish Thursday’s game due to injuries.
This offensive line, as currently constituted, can’t support a functioning NFL offense.
New England’s defense whiffs all night
A rough night for New England’s offense shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise.
But New England’s defense was expected to be the one steady unit on a rebuilding roster this season — and they were anything but stout on Thursday night.
While the emergence of players like Keion White have helped New England absorb the losses of pass-rushers like Matt Judon and Christian Barmore, Ja’Whaun Bentley’s reported season-ending injury might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Without a proven run stuffer and sound tackler in Bentley out on the field, New England’s defense was routinely picked apart by Rodgers and Co. — with several missed tackles leading to large gains by New York.
Bentley’s replacement in Raekwon McMillan had several TFL opportunities slip through his grasp with missed tackles, while Alex Austin whiffed on taking down Allen Lazard on a 10-yard touchdown.
According to Thursday’s broadcast, New England’s defense missed 13 total tackles, leading to an extra 100 yards gained by New York.
Add in several undisciplined plays — including veteran Jahlani Tavai taking a 15-yard penalty for body-slamming Breece Hall after a tackle — and this was an ugly showing from a Patriots defense that has regressed in short order after that Week 1 win in Cincinnati.
Top players submit lackluster performances
You know it was a bad night for New England when even the Patriots’ few star talents also had little to submit on the highlight reel.
Rhamondre Stevenson has been the engine of New England’s offense, but the talented running back finished Thursday’s game with just 23 rushing yards. He also fumbled for the third straight game, with Chuck Clark recovering the ball in the fourth quarter.
Christian Gonzalez also gave up his first career touchdown in coverage to Wilson in the third quarter.
LIVE UPDATES
11:12: The good news? Drake Maye looks pretty good! The bad news? New England still loses, 24-3.
Patriots are 1-2.
11:05: Drake Maye is entering the game for his NFL debut.
11:01: Drake Maye is taking snaps along the sideline.
10:52: Zach Thomas now in at left guard for New England in place of Michael Jordan.
10:49: This one is just about over. Zuerlein makes it 24-3.
10:43: Make that three fumbles in three games for Stevenson. Jets ball.
10:42: This about sums this one up.
10:33: End Third: Jets lead, 21-3.
10:31: Jacoby Brissett has now been sacked four times and been hit another nine times. Brutal.
10:22: Make it 3 straight holding calls against New England’s O-line. New England was on a 3rd-down spot on New York’s 23 — and now they’re out of field-goal range. Ugly stuff.
10:21: A great play by Brissett – but it’s wiped out by Caedan Wallace. Two holding calls in a row.
10:17: Pop Douglas makes things happen. He converts on a play action for 22 yards.
10:13: Touchdown, Jets. Another clinical drive by New York end with a 2-yard TD reception by Wilson. Gonzalez in coverage.
21-3 Jets.
9:58: This is still an 11-point game, but New England goes 3-and-out to start the second half. Brissett keeps getting crushed behind this O-line.
9:39: Patriots catch a break – Zuerlein’s kick is no good. 14-3 New York at the half.
9:35: The Patriots will seemingly finish the first half with -1 net passing yards.
9:32: Not good for New England’s defense.
9:16: The Patriots get on the board — with Joey Slye connecting on a 44-yard field goal. New England aided on that drive by several critical Jets penalties.
14-3 game with 3:56 left in the half.
9:10: Rhamondre Stevenson gets called for face mask on a stiff arm — negating a first down. Been that kind of game so far for New England.
9:06: Peppers is questionable to return with an ankle injury.
9:03: Touchdown Jets. Breece Hall runs it in from 1-yard out. New England’s tackling woes continue to plague them tonight.
14-0 Jets.
8:55: Jabrill Peppers is in the blue tent. Was banged up off that tackle while colliding with Keion White.
8:54: Patriots can’t tackle tonight. Ugly stuff.
8:50: End First: Patriots trail the Jets, 7-0.
8:49: Not great!
8:46: Brissett is crushed on that 3rd-down play — with Caedan Wallace is also whistled for illegal formation. Patriots punting.
This was a bad miss from Brissett:
8:44: Brissett to Hunter Henry for the third-down conversion. Rinse. Repeat.
8:43: The good news? DeMario Douglas gets a target. The bad news? The screen goes for just a yard.
8:38: Touchdown Jets. Allen Lazard beats Alex Austin for a 10-yard TD. Way too easy for New York, with the Patriots defense knocked for several missed tackles.
7-0 Jets.
8:35: Tavai knows better than that. Can’t body-slam Hall — and it leads to a 15-yard penalty. New England missing Tavai.
8:32: Bad missed tackle by McMillan. That’s where you miss Bentley.
8:28: New England goes 3-and-out. Brissett hit on both of his dropbacks.
8:27: Brissett drops back … and he’s hit.
8:23: After two first downs, Rodgers and the Jets’ offense stalls out. New York punts and New England takes over on the 20.
8:21: Nice coverage sack from Deatrich Wise. 2nd and long for Rodgers and the Jets.
8:19: No surprise, Gonzalez shadowing Wilson all over the field.
8:16: Patriots win the coin toss, they defer. Rodgers and Co. are up first.
8:09: Patriots entering into enemy territory:
7:53: Jacoby Brissett is feeling pretty good.
7:45: Rookie Caedan Wallace is ready to start at left tackle.
7:44: A positive update from Jerod Mayo:
7:43: Kraft on Jerod Mayo: “I picked him 5 years ago to be our next head coach.”
7:27: Warmups are underway.
7:04: The loss of Mosley is huge for the Jets. New York’s run defense has been pretty weak out of the gate, and Mosley was one of the few bright spots.
6:47: Inactives for the Patriots and Jets. New England will be thin on the O-line, while Marco Wilson is benched.
6:25: Good news for one of the leaders on New England’s defense:
6:23: Injuries on the O-line are definitely worth monitoring, but New England’s run defense is also set to take a hit with Ja’Whaun Bentley out. The Patriots’ run defense is giving up 58 yards per game on the ground, which is second in the league behind Baltimore. Opponents are averaging 3.3 yards per carry.
6:22: The Patriots also need to get Pop Douglas involved. Considering how limited New England’s pass game is, you can’t have such a dynamic route-runner end a game with zero targets once again.
6:20: One matchup worth keeping tabs on? Christian Gonzalez vs. Garrett Wilson. Gonzalez was matched up against Wilson during their Week 3 meeting in 2023, with Wilson limited to three catches and 18 yards over 23 routes in New England’s 15-10 victory. However, that was when Zach Wilson was throwing him the ball, rather than Aaron Rodgers.
6:15: Jacoby Brissett is feeling it with his pregame attire.
6:10: Just a little over two hours away from kick-off at MetLife.
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