New England Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins turned a third-down catch into a 15-yard taunting flag, swapping a manageable fourth-and-1 for a brutal fourth-and-16 against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Hollins’ penalty landed in the middle of an alarming Patriots implosion, another self-inflicted wound in a 35-6 wipeout at EverBank Stadium.
New England trailed 28-3 early in the fourth quarter when Hollins hauled in a third-down grab that set up a fourth-and-1. He’d just taken a hard shot and let the frustration show. Officials called it taunting, a dead-ball 15-yard penalty tacked on after the play, flipping the down-and-distance to fourth-and-16.
Kicker Andy Borregales settled for a 40-yard field goal, making it 28-6. Jacksonville answered on a short Bhayshul Tuten touchdown run, and Tommy DeVito relieved Drake Maye before the quarter ended. Hollins still led New England with six catches for 87 yards, numbers that won’t matter once his fine notice arrives, if the NFL decides to punish him further.
Patriots’ Mack Hollins Awaits Verdict From The NFL
A fine for Hollins looks close to certain. First-offense taunting penalties have landed in the $11,000-to-$12,000 range lately, and Hollins knows the number well. The NFL docked him $11,255 last year for stepping over Denver defensive back Patrick Surtain II. That same game drew a second taunting fine, for showing up returner Marvin Mims, the pair totaling $17,991. This is his third taunting citation since January, so the number could climb.
Neither Mike Vrabel nor Maye addressed the taunting penalty directly in postgame comments, and no comment from Hollins had surfaced Monday. Vrabel’s take on an offense that turned the ball over three times covered plenty of ground regardless.
“We all want to make plays. We just have to make some good ones. Sometimes you can want it too badly, and we can’t force it,” he said, as quoted by ESPN.
Maye, who threw two picks and lost a fumble before getting pulled, put it on himself.
“Being confident in this league is realizing these mistakes, you got to eliminate them,” he said, as quoted by ESPN.
Hollins Comes With Lengthy History of NFL Discipline
In November 2025, the league hit Hollins with a $20,278 fine for unnecessary roughness against the Jets. He appealed, and the NFL quietly wiped it away, according to NESN’s report on the reversal.
Hollins, 33, walked onto North Carolina’s roster without a scholarship, good enough that the Eagles spent a fourth-round pick, 118th overall, on him in 2017. He won a Super Bowl ring as a rookie, bounced through four more teams, then signed with New England in 2025 and reached a second Super Bowl last season, keeping an eccentric reputation that includes barefoot news conferences, according to a Boston Globe profile.
The flag against Hollins didn’t have much to do with the outcome of the game. Jacksonville won 35-6 to improve to 2-1, while New England fell to 1-2. Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdowns, including a fingertip grab from Parker Washington. Maye finished 14-of-25 for 199 yards, no touchdowns, two picks and three sacks. The 2024 No. 3 overall draft pick now stands at one touchdown pass against six interceptions through three games.
The bigger story was turnovers. Maye lost a fumble with no pressure on him, threw an end-zone pick that became Travis Hunter’s first career interception, and fired another straight to Jarrian Jones that led to a Jaguars score. Borregales also missed a 38-yard field goal, and Kyle Williams stepped out of bounds on a kickoff return, pinning New England at its 9-yard line. Jacksonville played clean all afternoon, and that gap, not Hollins’ flag, turned this into a rout.
Will Patriots Mack Hollins Get Punished by NFL For His Actions in Jaguars Loss?