New England Patriots
“We can’t force things, we can’t do things in all three phases that end up getting you beat. So certainly we have to fix a lot of things.”
Mike Vrabel and the Patriots are 1-2 on the year. Photo by Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
September 27, 2026 | 6:32 PM
2 minutes to read
A year removed from falling just a win short of a Super Bowl title, things have shifted dramatically for Mike Vrabel and the Patriots.
All of the promise rooted in New England’s 2026 campaign has seemingly dissipated in short order — headlined by an uncompetitive 35-6 road loss to the Jaguars on Sunday afternoon.
The Patriots might still have plenty of time to right the ship after a concerning three-game start to a new season. But speaking after this latest setback, Vrabel didn’t mince words over the current state of this football team.
“Well, my concern level is very high for this football team,” Vrabel said after New England dropped to 1-2 on the year. “I just want to coach and improve, so I think that’s the biggest thing when you come off a game like that. You just want to get back and work.
“There’s nothing you can do about it. But we have to take care of the football. We can’t force things, we can’t do things in all three phases that end up getting you beat. So certainly we have to fix a lot of things.”
Little went right for Vrabel and the Patriots on Sunday, led by another brutal performance from Drake Maye.
The Patriots’ third-year QB hasn’t looked like himself since the start of the 2025 postseason — with the NFL MVP runner-up regressing even further so far in 2026.
For all of the discourse over the state of New England’s pass-catching corps without A.J. Brown and opposing defenses seemingly countering Maye’s strengths with a lot of Cover 6, Maye is hindering his team due to his own miscues and poor decisions.
According to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, Maye is the first player since 2007 to get knocked for six-plus takeaways and one or fewer combined touchdowns in his first three games.
“We haven’t made good decisions with the football,” said Vrabel. “So we have to get it fixed, we have to practice, we have to work to get it corrected. Everyone else has to do much better, starting with me. That’s how it goes.
“It starts with me and I’m going to get guys in there to do the things the way we need them done, and the identity, and there’s going to be mistakes. Turnovers, and not taking advantage of their turnover opportunities, penalties, sudden change … things that we’re usually good at. So we’ll have to figure out why and do it in a hurry.”
Maye’s struggles will dominate headlines over the next week as the Patriots brace for a daunting road matchup against Josh Allen and the Bills.
But New England’s defense also labored on Sunday against the Jaguars — who converted on eight of their 12 third-down opportunities — while New England was also knocked for several undisciplined plays and penalties that both took points off the board and also gifted Jacksonville with extra yardage.
Fixing Maye’s struggles might be the top priority for New England, but Vrabel and his staff have several areas that need to be shored up ahead of their trip to Buffalo.
“The game ended five minutes ago,” Vrabel said. “So I’m going to think about everything from now until the time that we practice. We’re going to meet, we’re going to watch it, we’ll show the good, the bad, and the stuff that gets us beat tomorrow, and I’ll think of everything I possibly can for us to perform better.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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