10 things we learned about the Patriots vs. Jaguars in NFL Week 7

The New England Patriots started strong and then were blown up in London by the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. There's not really much left to say about what happened on Sunday.

With that in mind, here are our takeaways from the Patriots' 32-16 loss.

1. Drake Maye Looks Real: Regardless of what happens with the rest of the team this year, the most important thing is that the Patriots continue to develop Drake Maye as best they can and prepare him for success as much as possible. So far, so good: In only his second start, the rookie looked confident and made a number of solid throws.

Overall, Maye completed 26 of 37 pass attempts for 276 yards and two touchdowns. He wasn't perfect, but he made some very good throws – including arguably his best pass of the day, an impressive 33-yard completion to Kayshon Boutte in the fourth quarter.

“I thought he did a good job, especially because he started the game fast,” head coach Jerod Mayo said after the game. “He made some good throws, made some good plays with his legs.”

In addition to his success as a passer, Maye also led the Patriots in rushing for the second straight season. He gained 18 yards on three scramble plays.

“I have been extremely impressed and proud of Drake since he came in,” wide receiver KJ Osborn added. “When he was first drafted, how he got in there, how he handled the pressure of being a third-round pick, how he learned a pro offense, to the point where he is now. “I am definitely proud of him. I’m happy to see he continues to get better.”

The offensive line remains a mess and the receivers haven't been particularly good either, but Maye shows a lot of potential. Patriots fans should be excited that he is the quarterback of the future for this franchise.

2. Ja'Lynn Polk has to sit: Speaking of passing, rookie receiver Ja'Lynn Polk is having a season to forget so far. He dropped several passes again on Sunday and just looks lost out there at the moment. At this point, there are serious questions about whether the Patriots can continue to put him out there.

He has real talent but for some reason just can't put it to work at the moment. The Patriots might be better off activating Javon Baker and going with a group consisting of him, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Kendrick Bourne and KJ Osborn until Polk figures it out.

Continuing to play the second-round rookie in these troubles certainly doesn't seem to help.

3. Coaching staff growing pains continue to hurt Patriots: The Patriots fired their greatest coach of all time at the end of last season. To replace Bill Belichick, they brought in a head coach who had never been a head coach, an offensive coordinator who had never been an offensive coordinator, a defensive coordinator who had never been a defensive coordinator, and a special teams coordinator who had never been – you get the point it arrives.

A learning curve was to be expected for Jerod Mayo's entire team, but the coaching was suspect at best at times. Sunday was a prime example of the growing pains the group has to deal with.

The offense looked really good early in the game and then couldn't recover after the Jags seemed to figure out what they were doing. After scoring 10 points in each of their first two drives, they didn't score again until the fourth quarter.

Play calling played a role in this. Between their second and third scores – i.e. From early in the second to midway through the fourth quarter, New England had four possessions. Alex Van Pelt started all of them with first-down run plays, gaining a total of -1 yards. These plays put the Patriots in a disadvantageous position at the start of every series.

“Third-and-long is hard in this league,” Drake Maye said after the game.

On defense they couldn't stop another nosebleed. One has to wonder why so many of coordinator DeMarcus Covington's players continue to find themselves out of position and attempting arm tackles instead of actually finishing.

This coaching staff may be new, but they need to get more out of their players if the Patriots want to be any good.

4. Run defense is offensive: The Patriots are dealing with injuries on defense, but they can't possibly be that bad against the run. It's hard to say if it's the players' fault or the coaches' fault, but the job isn't being done right now.

The Patriots are not a good team, but they need to at least show some fight and be able to stop the run. On Sunday, the Jaguars simply shoved the ball down the Patriots' throats in embarrassing fashion.

Jerod Mayo called the Patriots a soft team after the game, and it seems like he was right.

5. Patriots losing on special teams fringe: Last week, the problem was the Patriots' kick return game. This week it was punt coverage.

Bryce Baringer hit a punt to the Jaguars' 4-yard line, causing the coverage unit to lose control of its lanes. You have to make the simple plays, and this was a simple play that just wasn't made.

The Patriots did a good job on special teams most of the season, but they also had some real problems. They blocked a field goal, struggled with their return game and have now given up a 96-yard punt return touchdown. First-year coordinator Jeremy Springer must work out the kinks and ensure his team stays disciplined in every game to continue to give the Patriots a chance to win.

After all, if your team isn't good, you need advantages wherever you can get them. Special teams is an area where these advantages can be leveraged, but right now it's hurting the Patriots more than helping them.

6. The O-line rotation isn't going to stop, is it? The Patriots have now started seven different offensive combinations in seven games and just can't seem to keep anyone healthy. Yes, they've been bad and haven't managed to pass the ball at all in the last two weeks, but you also have to look at who's out there.

Only one of Demontrey Jacobs, Michael Jordan, Ben Brown, Layden Robinson and Michael Onwenu – the latter – was projected as a Day 1 starter throughout training camp. In fact, Jacobs and Brown weren't even on the team this summer.

Drake Maye has done a better job of avoiding the pass rush, but the line just hasn't been cutting it lately. The hope is that they can get some guys healthy this week and start putting something together as this increasingly lost season progresses. If they can get the guys to play together for a few weeks in a row then maybe they can build some continuity and actually play a game where they can protect the quarterback and open up some holes for the running backs as well.

Until then it will be a bumpy ride.

7. JaMycal Hasty looks good as a receiver: The Patriots haven't been able to get anything going on the ground in their last two games, but that doesn't mean they haven't gotten production out of their running backs. JaMycal Hasty in particular deserves a special mention.

Hasty did a good job catching the ball out of the backfield, including the first touchdown of the game. This play in particular was a great individual play by Hasty that caused several players to miss their mark and get into the end zone.

“We’re at the back of the pack,” Drake Maye said after the game. “They ended up bringing in a safety and dropping the defense on the other side. Find completion. 3rd and 10, we’re in field goal range.”

It was nice to see Hasty make an impact on offense and perhaps give the Patriots another option out of the backfield. You need it.

8. Hunter Henry is the Patriots' top target: Speaking of needs, the Patriots desperately need some talented receivers to help their rookie quarterback. They have a very good weapon in Hunter Henry, who is by far the most reliable target for Drake Maye right now.

Not only is he a solid player and team captain, but he also always makes big plays: Of the Patriots' ten longest wins on Sunday, four went to Henry. In total, he caught eight passes for 92 yards, the most of the day for either team.

The Patriots still need more playmakers, but having a reliable one in the middle of the field will be important for Drake Maye going forward.

9. Two-point conversion math: After trailing by 15 points in the fourth quarter, the Patriots scored a touchdown on a 22-yard hookup between Drake Maye and KJ Osborn. Then they had a decision to make as they needed a two-point conversion at some point if they wanted to even the contest.

The question is: Should they go for the two points with eight minutes left or should they just shoot the extra point and save the two-point attempt until the next touchdown? Personally, I think the math is pretty simple: you choose the two early because you now know what you need for the rest of the way – a view also shared by Jerod Mayo after the game.

“At some point you have to choose between two,” he said. “I just wanted to know what situation we would be in with more time on the clock. For the first one we decided on two. I'm sure others see it differently. It’s just a philosophical thing.”

As mentioned above, the Patriots knew they had to get a two-point conversion at some point since there wasn't much time left. The question then was whether they would have one or two possessions to get it. Whether you get the two points or not is irrelevant at this moment because you have the same chance with 8 minutes remaining as with, say, 30 seconds left.

People might like the idea of ​​being down by just one possession, but the point is that you know what it takes and can act accordingly. What has to happen is that you have to take the result out of the equation. The simple fact is that you want as much information as possible for the rest of the game, and that's exactly what you have and what Mayo did.

10. Patriots have become the “real” game: The Patriots are quickly becoming the worst team in the NFL and are the “real” play for every other team in the league. It's never a good feeling when other teams see you as the team that can start feeling good after playing.

The Patriots were bad last year, but at least their defense put up some resistance when the offense repeatedly couldn't get out of the way. It has been an embarrassing start to the season for them in all three phases so far in 2024.