It started so well for Drake Maye and the New England Patriots at London's Wembley Stadium on Sunday, surging into a 10-0 lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the battle of two of the NFL's worst teams.
But by the end of the day, it was the 1-6 Patriots that took pole position in the race for the bottom, slumping to a one-sided defeat underpinned by dismal play in the trenches. Head coach Jerod Mayo had only one word to describe his team in a forthright press conference: "Soft."
That was an understatement. His team could neither stop the run nor run the ball itself, allowing the Jags to dominate time of possession and leave the Patriots' biggest asset – Maye – getting cold on the sideline.
Maye knew he was getting into a difficult situation from the moment his name was called in Detroit six months ago. He was joining a barren roster lacking in star quality, but the Patriots' many flaws were glaringly exposed by a significantly below-average opponent.
The fact that he accounted for 18 of the Pats' 38 rushing yards says it all. Throw in drops and penalties on the offensive side and a brittle defensive front, and the kid has absolutely no chance of being a success. With performances like this from his teammates, the top brass in Foxborough can only hope Maye's confidence endures to the end of a chastening rookie season and go back to the drawing board.
Maye showed glimpses of the qualities that made him a top pick in the Week 6 defeat to the championship-chasing Houston Texans. In his first NFL start, the former North Carolina star gave the Pats a cutting edge that Jacoby Brissett could not, throwing for three touchdowns in a 41-21 defeat.
And Maye was rolling early on in London. He pieced together a highly impressive opening drive, biting off chunks to methodically move downfield, overcoming a pre-snap penalty and a big sack in the process. He capped the drive by finding JaMycal Hasty in the flat and the running back shimmied his way into the endzone.
Another impressive drive followed, including a chain-moving as he sneaked between a pair of would-be tacklers trying to lose the sliding doors on him. But the drive stalled in the red zone, and the Patriots had to settle for a Joey Slye field goal.
And by halftime, the Jags would have a two-score lead of their own. Brian Thomas Jr, Tank Bigsby and Parker Washington put up a trio of scores that exposed many of the Patriots' biggest shortcomings. Thomas Jr. profited from miscommunication in the secondary for a wide-open touchdown grab, while Bigsby gashed the Pats' run defense over and over again. To cap off a miserable sequence for head coach Jerod Mayo, his punt unit parted like the Red Sea for Washington to run back 97-yard touchdown.
Amid the defensive woes, Maye and his offense could not get anything going. He was not aided by drops and an inability to run the ball with any efficiency. He has been dealt a bad hand, playing behind arguably the league's worst offensive line with, arguably, the worst collection of skill position players.
A Cam Little field goal in the third quarter extended the Jags' advantage to 15, leaving the Patriots with a mountain to climb. Maye set about doing just that in the fourth. He found tight end Hunter Henry with a deep strike over the middle to get into Jacksonville territory, and he backed it up with a gorgeous touch pass to Kayshon Boutte to drive into the red area.
Maye once again showed his poise when behind the sticks after a false start penalty in the red zone, converting on third-and-15 with a precise 22-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn. But when Ja'Lynn Polk slipped out of his break on the two-point conversion and Maye's pass fell incomplete, it remained a two-score game.
The Pats' defense was able to stiffen and force a turnover on downs, but then it was time for its porous offensive line to be overrun once again in a miserable season. A holding penalty put them behind the chains and then Maye was blasted by Travon Walker after he overpowered right tackle Demontrey Jacobs. Maye threw up a prayer on fourth-and-22 from his own 10-yard line to keep the game alive, but it fell incomplete.
There was time for Jacksonville to bully the Pats' front seven once again, with Bigsby cashing in on the great field position to pound his way into the endzone for a second time to put the finishing touches on a 32-16 blowout.
It is a scoreline that speaks volumes about Jerod Mayo's group; they were outclassed by a Jaguars team that had made an equally dismal start to the season. It is a credit to Maye that he has shown flashes of his talent above amid a mess threatening to drag him down.
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