If the New England Patriots’ incredible run to Super Bowl LX felt like a lifetime, imagine what it must have felt like for the people in that locker room.
Just three games into the 2026 campaign, the Patriots are 1-2 and coming off three “unacceptable” weeks of performances, according to New England quarterback Drake Maye. In Sunday’s 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, a matchup of AFC playoff hopefuls, Maye was his own worst enemy. The third-year quarterback threw a pair of interceptions, missed a surprise fumble, and didn’t look like the quarterback who played his way into the MVP conversation a season ago.
May’s first interception came in the final moments of a 10-play drive, with New England facing a 3rd-and-goal situation inside the Jacksonville 5-yard line. The Patriots led 14-3 late in the first half and a field goal to cap the game in the second half couldn’t have been worse.
Instead, Maye forced a throw-in with Travis Hunter’s first interception of his career.
The throw — and the decision — recalled May’s comments after New England’s season-ending loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The young man talked about how the fourth He “lost patience” in the second half against Seattle, as New England let early leads slip away, intercepting Patriots quarterbacks three times. That impatience showed in this throw and decision, with Maye trying to do too much in one moment rather than sitting on a field goal and keeping his team within striking distance at halftime.
This is the NFL’s version of finding, and fighting, quicksand.
Things got worse in the third quarter.
This is a direct route to the short side of the field, and the defender is in the way of Kyle Williams. Complicating matters was the fact that May left the throw in, leaving a clear path for Jarian Jones to go to the football for May’s second time of the afternoon.
May’s impatience is boiling over at this point, and the numbers speak for themselves. The third-year quarterback has thrown six interceptions this season, matching the franchise mark set by Drew Bledsoe in the 1994 season.
He has just one touchdown pass this year, which came in the first half in Week 1 against the Seahawks.
What complicates matters is what has resulted from those changes. His first interception against the Jaguars on Sunday was a long field goal attempt before halftime that was missed by Jacksonville kicker Cam Little. But on the play after May’s second half, the Jaguars punched the ball into the end zone to take an insurmountable 28-3 lead.
On this day, 28-3 was insurmountable.
And looking back to Week 1, May’s first two interceptions of the night led directly to points for Seattle as the Seahawks punted. Seattle scored a touchdown on the drive after May’s first interception, and the Seahawks took a 13-10 lead on a field goal after the second interception.
May’s third and final interception of the night, in the end zone, ended New England’s chances of a comeback.
Speaking to the media after the loss, Maye heaped pressure on himself and called his handling of the offense “unacceptable” in the first three weeks.
What’s wrong with Maye and the New England offense? Andrew Callahan, who presented the clip above, took a deep dive into Maye and the passing game, highlighting some of the struggles teams are having in the secondary with coverage 6.
But while the second may have come in Jacksonville’s interception coverage at 6 on Sunday — it’s hard to tell for sure outside of the All-22 angle — the problems go beyond limited coverage at this point, Callahan himself said from the press box on Sunday.
And the comparison to Trevor Lawrence might underline the whole point: May is loading up. He is trying to do more on each throw, rather than taking what the defense gives him or deciding to drop the football and live on another down.
He has no patience, and that will kill you when you fight quicksand in his pocket.
The concern goes all the way to the head coach:
If there is some consolation for Patriots fans, the aforementioned 1994 New England team that saw Bledsoe throw three touchdowns in the first three games of the season also started 1-2.
But that team finished 10-6 and clinched a playoff berth, improving to 3-2 on the young season that started with wins in Weeks 4 and 5.
Can this New England team do the same?
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills visit next week.
Maya needs to get rid of the quicksand and be quick to do something like this.
