New England Patriots
“I just wasn’t locked in enough. That’s all. I mean, the video speaks for itself.”
With A.J. Brown sidelined for a majority of the second half of Wednesday’s season opener against the Seahawks, the Patriots needed a spark on offense to stay afloat at a raucous Lumen Field.
Romeo Doubs served as a potential remedy — especially when factoring in the $68 million contract that New England handed him during the offseason.
But on a night when the Patriots imploded down the stretch — squandering a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter — Doubs’ contribution, or lack thereof, loomed large over New England’s eventual 13-10 loss to the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Most of the woes rooted in New England’s disheartening finish revolve around the poor decision-making of Drake Maye — who was knocked for three back-breaking interceptions in each of his club’s final three drives of the night.
Postgame, Doubs — one of Maye’s expected top targets entering this year — vouched for his signal-caller.
“We got all the confidence in the world in Drake,” Doubs said postgame. “He’s our guy.”
Unfortunately, Doubs played a part in Maye’s miserable night against Seattle
The wideout finished the night with zero catches on three targets — including a brutal drop in the fourth quarter that helped spur Seattle into its comeback win.
“I mean, it’s always disappointing to lose in this league,” Doubs said postgame. “No one likes to lose. I don’t like to lose. … I’ve just got to be better moving forward.”
Doubs’s first target of the night didn’t come until a little over 30 seconds into the fourth quarter — with Maye putting his new wideout in a tough spot after heaving the ball downfield into double coverage.
Maye’s ill-advised throw — when another 5-15 yards could have put Andy Borregales in field-goal range — was tipped in the air after Doubs couldn’t corral it, with Nehemiah Pritchett snagging it for Maye’s first turnover of the night.
Postgame, Maye blamed himself for targeting Doubs in that play when he was already blanketed by a pair of Seattle defensive backs.
“I just stopped being patient,” Maye said of his three-interception stretch in the fourth quarter. “I think that’s a big thing. We were really good up to the point where I tried to force one down the sideline to Romeo — where we were patient and dumping it off and trying to move the chains, and we avoided a lot of 3-and-outs. … Just stopped being patient and made decisions that ended up costing us the game.”
Doubs’s second target of the night was a different story.
After Jaxon Smith-Njigba knotted the score up at 10-10 apiece off a 45-yard touchdown, Maye and the Patriots offense still had plenty of time on the clock to regroup.
It helped that a rollout from Maye on a 2nd-and-14 from New England’s own 22-yard line presented a prime opportunity for the Patriots to gain some chunk yardage.
After moving out of the pocket, Maye spotted a wide-open Doubs down the field — tossing a dart toward his wideout.
Had Doubs corralled the throw, it would have secured at least a 20- to 25-yard pickup for New England, moving the ball across midfield and once again putting the Patriots in position to tack on some points in crunch time.
But Doubs bobbled the offering from Maye, dropping it to the turf and negating the explosive play.
“That had nothing to do with Drake,” Doubs said. “That was 150 percent on me. … Just, I just wasn’t locked in enough. That’s all. I mean, the video speaks for itself.”
Unfortunately, the very next play fell directly on Maye — who tried to force a throw over the middle to DeMario Douglas on a 3rd-and-14 that Julian Love promptly picked off.
Seattle capitalized on the subsequent drive, with Jason Myers giving the Seahawks a 13-10 lead it would not relinquish via a 26-yard field goal.
“I have the utmost confidence in him,” Doubs said of Maye. “I know what he can do. I’ve watched what he’s done in this league a long time … this doesn’t define him. It’s just this league. It’s always a pendulum in this league.”
Week 1 doesn’t always serve as a sign of things to come during a long season. Jerod Mayo and the 2024 Patriots opened their year with a strong road win against the Bengals, while Mike Vrabel and the 2025 Patriots posted an ugly home loss to the Raiders last September.
It’s fair to expect that Maye won’t throw three interceptions on three straight fourth-quarter drives with regularity this year, while Doubs is far better than he showcased on Wednesday.
Such was the case that Doubs made on multiple occasions after such a listless debut with his new club.
“Part of my job as a player is to make this team better, and I’ll be better moving forward,” Doubs noted.
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