7 takeaways from the Patriots loss to the Jaguars in London

• Fast start

  

  Oct 20, 2024; London, United Kingdom; New England Patriots running back JaMycal Hasty (39) reacts after a touchdown with New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry (85) in the first half during an NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Credit: Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

  After talking about getting off to a fast start during the week, the Patriots did just that. The Jaguars won the toss and deferred. Off of the opening kickoff the Patriots marched 68 yards in 11 plays, capping things off with their first opening drive touchdown since Week 14 of last season.

  With nine of those 11 plays being passes, the Patriots put the onus on rookie quarterback Drake Maye from the jump. May responded well, going 6-of-7 for 62 yards on that drive, and adding a couple of scrambles. Multiple times he threw on the run and hit targets in tight windows as he seemed to really get in a rhythm. Running back JaMycal Hasty finished things off, making a couple of defenders miss after catching a pass in the flat for an 16-yard touchdown.

  The tempo of that opening drive certainly seemed encouraging. It resembled what many probably had in mind when the Patriots drafted Maye back in April. After the defense forced a Jaguars punt the second drive started off looking similar, highlighted by a 15-yard scramble by Maye from a collapsing pocket on third down.

  However, the thing about a fast start is it’s supposed to set the tone for the remainder of the game. For the Patriots, the tone seemed to shift as soon as the first quarter ended. That second drive, which carried over into the second quarter, ended in a field goal – and things only got worse from there.

• Falling back in the middle 30 minutes

  

  LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 20: Brian Thomas Jr of Jacksonville Jaguars makes a first down catch during the NFL match between New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on October 20, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

  While the first 15 minutes went more or less the way the Patriots drew things up, the middle 30 were anything but. The Jaguars seemingly got whatever they wanted on both sides of the ball.

  Over the past two weeks, a recurring issue for the Patriots was play disparity. They were getting out-snapped by significant margins, limiting the offense’s ability to get in a rhythm and gassing the defense for key late-game drives.

  Early on in this one it looked like the Patriots were going to flip the script and ran 19 plays in the first quarter to the Jaguars’ five. From there though the Jaguars totally took control, and outrepped the Patriots 54 plays to 33 from the second quarter on. The offense couldn’t stay on the field, and the defense couldn’t get off of it.

  In their three drives fully contained to the second quarter the Patriots went three-and-out three times. That included botching another late-half situation, when they failed to move the ball or run clock and gave the Jaguars an extra possession before halftime (which Jacksonville chose to kneel out). Still, that’s the third time in seven games the Patriots’ indecision and poor execution late in the first half has put them in a position to get burned.

  In the third quarter the Patriots had just one full drive, running five plays before punting. That was because the defense could get off the field, allowing a 12-play, 63-yard drive that took 5:18 off the clock to start the half and ended with a field goal.

  That was followed by a monster 17-play, 84-yard drive that took 11:24 off the clock and lasted well into the fourth quarter. While the Jaguars didn’t get points on that drive (the defense got a 4th & short stop in the red zone) they did drain almost a quarter off of a two-score game, significantly limiting the Patriots’ ability to come back. It was the longest drive (in terms of time of possession) in the NFL this year, the longest in the league since 2022, and the longest allowed by the Patriots since at least 2001 (when the Pro Football Reference data begins).

• Failure at the line of scrimmage

  

  LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 20: D’Ernest Johnson of Jacksonville Jaguars is challenged by Christian Eliss of New England Patriots during the NFL match between New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on October 20, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

  A big part of the reason the Patriots’ couldn’t maintain their momentum from the first quarter was their inability to win on the line of scrimmage. That was true on both sides of the ball.

  Despite the return of Rhamondre Stevenson, the Patriots’ run game was a non-factor for the second week in a row. Drake Maye was once again the team’s leading rusher, picking up 18 yards on three scrambles.

  Meanwhile, the Patriots’ running back trio of Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, and JaMycal Hasty combined for 20 yards on 12 carries, or 1.7 yards per carry. A lot of that was due to a lack of push up front.

  Despite that, after the first drive offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt called running plays on eight of the Patriots’ next 11 first downs. Because of that, the Patriots were regularly behind the sticks and behind schedule, and went 3-of-9 on third downs after that initial scoring drive.

  Jacksonville’s backs had the opposite happening in front of them. The Patriots’ defensive line got blown off the ball regularly as the Jags rushed for a season-high 171 yards. At one point late in the game the Jaguars felt comfortable enough to run the ball 17 times in a row (a stretch that spanned two drives and went from the third into the fourth quarter), at 4.2 yards per carry.

  “We’re a soft football team across the board,” head coach Jerod Mayo said after the game. “You talk about what makes a tough football team – being able to run the ball, being able to stop the run, and being able to cover kicks [more on that in a bit]. We did none of those today. They controlled the ball for most of the day.”

  It wasn’t just in the run game the Patriots struggled up front in this one. Let’s get to the pass rush…

• Pass rush a non-factor

  

  Oct 20, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) prepares to throw the ball against the New England Patriots in the second half of an NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

  …or, what there was of one. When the Jaguars did throw, Trevor Lawrence had plenty of time and room to operate. Not only did the Patriots not get a sack in this game, they didn’t even record a QB hit.

  In-game PFF charting had the Patriots down for just two pressures in this game on 21 dropbacks. One was schemed up on a blitz that allowed Marcus Jones a free shot at Lawrence in the pocket, but Jones took a bad angle that allowed Lawrence to step around him and scramble for a first down on 3rd & 8. The other was from defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale.

  Granted, the offensive line has been one bright spot for the Jaguars this year. They came into the game allowing the NFL’s seventh-lowest pressure rate at 28 percent, per Next Gen Stats.

  Still, to make a little of an impact as the Patriots’ pass rush did in this game is jarring. It’s going to be very tough to win without being able to turn up the heat on opposing quarterbacks.

  Coming into the game, the Patriots had the seventh-lowest pressure rate defensively at 29.9 percent – a number that is going to drop by a good amount after this one. While the team has lost key pass rushers this season in guys like Matthew Judon and Christian Barmore, they still need to find a way to get after the quarterback.

  Keion White has cooled off significantly after a hot start to the season, and Joshua Uche’s role has shrunk after an ineffective start to the season (he played just 11 snaps – his fewest in a game this season – on Sunday). The pass rush is going to have to start coming from somewhere, but it’s tough to project where exactly right now.

• Disastrous special teams sequence

  

  LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 20: Parker Washington of Jacksonville Jaguars runs with the ball prior to scoring a touch down during the NFL match between New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on October 20, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

  The Patriots’ special teams unit had its own brutal sequence on Sunday. It was part of the nightmare second quarter that saw the Patriots get out-scored 22-3.

  After a 3-and-out late in the second quarter the Patriots set up to punt from their own 30. Bryce Baringer got off a big punt of 66 yards, which came down inside the Jaguar 5-yard line.

  Usually kicks that close into the end zone aren’t returned, since it’s more likely to take a touchback than return the ball out to the 20. However Baringer had out-kicked his coverage, and Parker Washington had time to set up a return while coverage players were still running downfield. Once the coverage did arrive, rookie safety Dell Pettus failed to fill his gap and Washington was able to return the punt 96 yards for a touchdown.

  That wasn’t all for the special teams unit on that sequence though. On the ensuing PAT, Jahlani Tavai lined up in the neutral zone. With the penalty yardage, the Jaguars chose to move up and go for a two-point conversion, which was successful.

  Because of that, the Patriots were left chasing points late in the game. They went for a two-point try after scoring with 8:22 to go in the game, which failed and left it a two-possession game. Even if the Patriots had kicked an extra point there they still would have needed a two-point play if they scored again. That completely changed the game script, and could have been avoided simply by lining up onsides.

• Late game passing spark

  

  LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 20: Drake Maye of New England Patriots passes the ball during the NFL match between New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on October 20, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

  While the game turned into a slog for the Patriots for most of the final 45 minutes, they did find a spark midway through the fourth quarter. For most of the second and third quarters the Patriots played things conservatively on offense, including a heavy number of first-down runs that consistently put them behind schedule.

  They finally opened things up down 25-10, after getting the fourth-down stop to end the 11-minute drive. Van Pelt called three pass plays right off the rip, which seemed to allow Drake Maye to get back in a rhythm.

  Maye completed five of his eight passes on the nine-play drive, with deep connections to Hunter Henry over the middle and Kayshon Boutte up the left sideline. He then hit K.J. Osborn over the middle on a strong anticipatory throw for a 22-yard touchdown.

  In the end, that drive ended up being too little, too late for this game. But as will be the case for much of this season, the flashes of Maye that project towards the future are as notable as game results, and that drive was certainly something the Patriots can build on moving forwards.

• Ja’Lynn Polk struggles again

  

  Oct 18, 2024; London, United Kingdom; New England Patriots wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk (1) carries the ball during practice at the Harrow School. Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

  This was another rough game for Patriots rookie Ja’Lynn Polk. Polk was targeted three times and did not record a catch.

  After dropping two passes last week, Polk’s hands were certainly a point of focus in this one. While his first two targets came through contact, he was able to get both hands on both passes which were realistically catchable. For a second-round pick, especially for a player like Polk who is more of a chain-mover than big-play threat, those kinds of plays need to end in catches.

  Later in the game, Polk was the target on the Patriots’ two-point conversion. Polk gained initial separation running a whip route on the goal line but couldn’t keep his feet under him and fell down as Maye was releasing the ball, resulting in an incompletion.

  That’s probably a route better suited for a guy like DeMario Douglas, but he was out of the game at that point due to an illness. Instead it was Polk, who added to what was a difficult day.

  What do the Patriots do with Polk now? Douglas and Kayshon Boutte seem like the top two receivers at the moment, and Kendrick Bourne continues to ramp up in his return from last season’s torn ACL. K.J. Osborn returned on Thursday and caught two passes, and could position himself past Polk as the fourth receiver. That leaves Polk with Tyquan Thornton and fellow rookie Javon Baker, who were both healthy scratches on Sunday.