Mike Vrabel shifts focus from Dianna Russini media storm to serious on-field troubles
New England’s nightmare continues. Drake Maye’s offense goes scoreless again as the Patriots get embarrassed 35-6 by Jacksonville.
The New England Patriots endured one of their most difficult afternoons in recent years, falling 35-6 to the Jacksonville Jaguars —the widest margin of defeat since Mike Vrabel took over as head coach, and the franchise’s worst loss since a 40-7 thrashing by the Los Angeles Chargers in December 2024 under then-coach Jerod Mayo .
After the game, Vrabel made no effort to hide his frustration with his team’s performance.
“My concern level is very high for this football team,” Vrabel said, as quoted by the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed. “I just wanna coach and improve. I think that’s the biggest thing when you come off a game like that. You just wanna get back and work.”
The self-criticism continued in the locker room. Quarterback Drake Maye summed up the offense’s performance in a single word— “Unacceptable” —the same assessment he offered after the Week 1 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. After finishing last season 14-3, New England now sits at a disappointing 1-2.
Most concerning was the offense’s continued inability to reach the end zone.
On the other side, Trevor Lawrence calmly directed Jacksonville, completing 19 of 29 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Jaguars to a decisive win at EverBank Stadium. Jacksonville piled up 313 total yards while the Patriots never found a way to crack the opposing defense.
Maye finished 14-of-25 for 199 yards with two interceptions and a lost fumble. One of those throws resulted in the first interception of Travis Hunter’s career, while another was returned by Jarrian Jones, setting up a touchdown by Chris Rodriguez Jr. on the very next play.
“You’ve got to take care of the football,” Vrabel said, according to his Wednesday remarks to NESN. “You’ve got to hit some returns; you’ve got to be able to find some X plays in the kicking game.”
None of that happened in Jacksonville , where the New England Patriots once again struggled and remain a long way from the level that carried them to the Super Bowl last season .
