The New England Patriots had a chance to leave Jacksonville with a winning record Sunday afternoon.
Instead, they left with the kind of loss that had fans questioning just about everything.
New England was dismantled by the Jacksonville Jaguars, 35-6, in a game that went from frustrating to ugly in a hurry. The Patriots never reached the end zone, Drake Maye turned the ball over three times and Mike Vrabel eventually pulled his starting quarterback with the outcome long since decided.
By then, Patriots fans had seen more than enough.
“This team is a absolute joke,” one fan wrote on X as Jacksonville rolled.
Another offered an even simpler assessment: “The New England Patriots are a bad team.”
Those reactions captured the mood of a fan base that watched a potential momentum-building afternoon turn into New England’s second loss in three games.
And Maye was far from the only target.
Patriots Fans Unload During Blowout Loss
The frustration started building well before the final whistle.
Maye lost the football on a bizarre first-quarter play in which the ball slipped out of his hand as he prepared to throw. Jacksonville recovered at its own 38-yard line and turned the mistake into the game’s first touchdown.
New England later had a chance to make it a one-score game before halftime. Facing second-and-goal from the Jacksonville 2-yard line, Maye tried to find Efton Chism III in the end zone.
Travis Hunter was waiting.
The Jaguars’ two-way star intercepted Maye for the first pick of his NFL career, wiping away New England’s best chance to score a touchdown in the opening half.
“That was so bad. Efton Chism wasn’t open,” MassLive Patriots reporter Mark Daniels wrote on X. “Patriots lose another scoring opportunity due to a poor decision by Maye.”
The Patriots QB has two turnovers today and six through three weeks.
Things didn’t improve after halftime.
Maye threw another interception in the third quarter, giving him three turnovers on the afternoon and seven through the first three games of the season. His seven giveaways are the most in the NFL.
The reaction from fans became increasingly unforgiving.
“I love Drake Maye, but I’m at a loss for words,” one fan wrote. “He’s just playing awful.”
Another called for Vrabel to make a quarterback change before the game was over: “Time to sit @DrakeMaye2 for the rest of the game. His head is in his ass. Give @tommydevito007 some time!”
Eventually, that change came. With Jacksonville leading 35-6 in the fourth quarter, Maye’s afternoon ended and Tommy DeVito took over.
Drake Maye Wasn’t the Only Problem for Patriots
It would be easy to make Sunday’s loss entirely about Maye.
It wasn’t.
The Patriots scored six points. They didn’t find the end zone once. Jacksonville scored touchdowns on five possessions and turned a game between two 1-1 teams into a rout.
Fans spread the blame accordingly.
“Team literally self destructs in games one bad drive and it’s over feels like 2023-2024 all over again,” one fan wrote.
Another had a three-item prescription for fixing New England’s problems: “Bench drake give him a reality check,” “Fire josh” and make a change at running back.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels took plenty of heat elsewhere, too. So did a Patriots defense that had been one of the team’s biggest strengths through the opening two weeks but surrendered 35 points Sunday.
Perhaps one of the most telling reactions came from Patriots reporter Dan Kelley.
“Let’s make a list of all the New England Patriots playing well today. No repeating names,” Kelley wrote during the game. “I’ll start: Marcus Jones.”
I’ll start: Marcus Jones.
Earlier, Kelley had pointed to receivers struggling to get open or catch the ball, poor quarterback play, play-calling and undisciplined football before reaching a straightforward conclusion:
“Not a recipe for success.”
There wasn’t much arguing with that by the end of the afternoon.
The Patriots arrived in Jacksonville coming off a 20-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and with an opportunity to move above .500.
They left 1-2 after their ugliest performance of the young season.
Maye’s sudden turnover problem is now one of the biggest questions surrounding the team. The offense has plenty of its own. And after watching the Jaguars run away with Sunday’s game, Patriots fans made one thing abundantly clear:
Their patience is already wearing thin.
Patriots Fans Erupt After Humiliating 35-6 Loss to Jaguars