The New England Patriots had no shortage of problems in their 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. One number from the aftermath, however, helps explain why the offense had such a difficult afternoon.
New England allowed 14 pressures in the loss, according to PFF data shared by Patriots reporter Doug Kyed. Ten of those 14 pressures came from the right side of the Patriots’ protection.
RG Walter Rouse: 4 RT Morgan Moses: 3 RT Caleb Lomu: 2 RG Greg Van Roten: 1 RB Rhamondre Stevenson: 1 TE Hunter Henry: 1 LT Will Campbell: 1 LG Alijah Vera-Tucker: 0 C Jared Wilson: 0 C
That is more than 71% of the pressure allowed by New England coming from one side of the offensive front.
Right guard Walter Rouse was charged with a team-high four pressures. Right tackle Morgan Moses allowed three, while Caleb Lomu, who also played right tackle, surrendered two. Right guard Greg Van Roten was responsible for another.
It was a glaring breakdown for an offense that never found its footing against Jacksonville.
Patriots’ Right Side Struggled to Protect Drake Maye
The pressure numbers add another layer to what was already a difficult day for Drake Maye.
Maye made costly mistakes of his own in the loss, but the protection in front of him did little to make life easier. The Patriots scored only six points, were held without a touchdown and repeatedly failed to turn opportunities into points.
And the issues were overwhelmingly concentrated on one side.
Kyed reported the Patriots allowed 14 pressures in total. After the 10 attributed to players on the right side, running back Rhamondre Stevenson, tight end Hunter Henry and left tackle Will Campbell were each charged with one.
Left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, center Jared Wilson and center Ben Brown were credited with zero.
That distribution is difficult to ignore.
New England entered the season with an offensive line that looked substantially different from the unit it fielded a year ago. Sunday showed that simply changing the personnel does not guarantee immediate stability, particularly when injuries or in-game adjustments force the Patriots to dig further into their depth.
Jacksonville found an area it could attack, and the Patriots never found a consistent answer.
Offensive Line Adds to Patriots’ Concerns After 35-6 Loss
There was no single culprit behind a 29-point defeat.
Maye struggled. New England failed to finish drives. The defense could not keep Jacksonville from pulling away. The Patriots also hurt themselves with the kind of mistakes that become even more costly when an offense is already fighting to stay on schedule.
But the pressure breakdown provides a tangible issue for Mike Vrabel and his staff to address as they turn the page.
It also matters when evaluating Maye’s performance.
The quarterback deserves responsibility for poor decisions and inaccurate throws. Protection problems cannot explain every mistake he made Sunday. But quarterback play does not happen in isolation, either, and allowing 10 pressures from the right side of the protection creates a difficult environment for any passing offense.
The Patriots now have to determine whether Sunday’s performance was a particularly rough afternoon or evidence of a problem opponents can continue to exploit.
After a 35-6 loss, there is plenty for New England to fix.
The right side of the offensive line just gave the Patriots one particularly obvious place to start.
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