Patriots-Jaguars What To Watch For: Will we see growth from Maye, Pats receivers in London?
FOXBORO -- The Patriots sit at just 1-5 and are already at a critical point in the season. After losing five straight, New England is hoping that a trip to merry ole England and a matchup with the 1-5 Jaguars will spark a turnaround.
Drake Maye had a promising first start in last week's loss to the Texans, but there is plenty of room for improvement for the rookie QB. And if the Patriots want to snap their streak and return home with a win, they have to get out of their own way.
Turnovers and costly penalties did the Patriots no favors last week, and those frustrating and untimely infractions are becoming the team's calling card. Can they knock those off across the pond, or will the Patriots have to declare a sixth straight loss when they go through customs on Sunday night?
Here's what we'll be watching for when the Patriots and the Jaguars square off at Wembley Stadium.
The Growth of Drake Maye
Drake Maye is giving us a real reason to keep watching Patriots games. After a solid but imperfect afternoon in his first career start, we'll now be watching for weekly progress from the 22-year-old. Maye's development is Priority No. 1 for New England the rest of the way, and Sunday is his first chance to show what he learned from playing a talented Texans defense last week.
Maye had some happy feet early against Houston, and with all the adrenaline that he took into the game, he struggled with his accuracy. It led to his first interception when he overthrew DeMario Douglas by a mile and then a few incompletions in key spots. But he adjusted very well, and appeared pretty comfortable after hitting Kayshon Boutte for their 40-yard touchdown just ahead of halftime.
Maye still made mistakes in the second half with another pick and a lost fumble (mostly due to Houston's strong defense) but he also added two more touchdown passes. He's developing quite the connection with Douglas, who had a season-high 92 receiving yards and his first career touchdown last season. The 35-yard scoring strike between Maye and Douglas showed what two of New England's most promising players are capable of.
"Pop, you can't guard him in a phone booth," Maye said of Douglas earlier this week.
Expect a lot from that Maye-Douglas connection on Sunday, as the Jaguars have struggled against slot receivers this season. Getting that duo rolling could help the New England offense open up bigger things downfield.
But it will really depend on Maye and his consistency and accuracy. We aren't expecting perfection from the rookie, but we do want to see some steps in the right direction.
Yet another new offensive line for the New England Patriots
Those steps in the right direction also include Maye being wiser with his scrambles and the hits that he takes. He was sacked four times and hit eight times by the Texans last week, and popped up on the injury report with a knee issue.
The offense will feature yet another new offensive line, with the Patriots set to start their seventh different O-line of the season. Vederian Lowe has been ruled out, meaning Demontrey Jacobs could be back at left tackle. That could shift Mike Onwenu back to right tackle, with Michael Jordan (left guard), Ben Brown (center), and either Sidy Sow or Layden Robinson (right guard) in the middle.
At this point, we'd kind of like to see if the Pats can start a different offensive line every week of the season. Talk about setting a record that will never be matched.
As for Sunday though, whomever lines up at the two tackle spots will have their hands full. Jacksonville defensive end Josh Hines-Allen has 24 QB pressures and 2.5 sacks on the season. Travon Walker is even more explosive with 23 QB pressures and five sacks on the year. The top pick in the 2022 NFL Draft didn't have a sack or QB hit last week against Chicago, but he had three sacks in Week 5 in Jacksonville's lone win of the season over the Colts.
The Jaguars aren't generating a ton of pressure on opposing quarterbacks this season, but have a couple of guys in Walker and Hines-Allen that can really wreck an opposing team's game plan.
Will Patriots receivers continue to grow with Maye?
The deep ball made a return to the New England playbook last week with Maye at quarterback. It led to the best play of the season in that 40-yard touchdown to Boutte, who had a career day with three catches for 59 yards.
Boutte has been on the up-and-up the last few weeks -- mainly because of his blocking -- but he could be primed for an even bigger game as a pass-catcher on Sunday. He played 55 snaps (83 percent) to lead all receivers last week, and Boutte's continued rise would be a huge development for the New England pass attack.
We'll also be looking to see if Kendrick Bourne takes that next step in his return. He played 34 snaps last week and caught both passes that went his way. Getting Bourne back to full speed would give Maye a legit veteran target in his receiving corps.
Rookie Ja'Lynn Polk remains the most intriguing player in the receivers room, but he's gotten off to a slow start and has had an issue with drops. He has just 10 catches on 23 targets through the first six weeks.
Despite his struggles, Polk remains as confident as ever, telling Mass Live that be believes he has the best hands in the NFL. That's the kind of unabashed confidence you want in a young receiver, but now we really need Polk to go out and back up his words on the playing field.
A fast start from the Patriots, maybe?
Jacksonville is a team in turmoil. Doug Pederson may not be welcomed on the flight back if the team loses on Sunday, and Trevor Lawrence is flirting with getting benched. If the Patriots give them a reason to quit early on Sunday, the Jaguars will gladly take it.
But the Patriots haven't been starting games with any kind of fire this season. They've been outscored 34-17 in the opening frame through the first six weeks. Last week, they got hit with a penalty on the opening kickoff.
All of that has Jerod Mayo fuming and ready to make changes to the lineup as a "wake-up call" to his players. But there is only so much he can do on that front with a roster that is truly lacking playmakers. Keeping Keion White on the bench early as a punishment for his bevvy of penalties will do more to hurt than help the team.
The Patriots have to figure out a way to set the tone and establish themselves early. Maybe they'll take the ball if they win the coin toss, and then it will be up to the offense to actually do something with it. It's obvious the Patriots want to run the ball and control the clock, but mix in some quick hits to Douglas to get Maye going and hope that opens up the deep threat.
And on defense, it's simple: Don't give up 50-yard runs, and stop getting flagged on third down. Go back to the days of doing your job instead of hunting out stats.
The Jaguars are just as desperate as the Patriots this weekend. Don't give them any reason to believe they can win this game, and they should fold quickly.
BONUS: An appearance by Mac Jones???
Once the quarterback of the future in New England, Jones is now the backup for his hometown Jacksonville Jaguars. But if things get out of hand on Sunday or Lawrence fires a few passes to the New England defense, Jones could find himself taking over against his former team.
It's hard to drum up interest in a game between two 1-5 teams, but Drake Maye vs. Mac Jones would just feel right on Sunday.
Get ready for Sunday's Patriots-Jaguars game in London with WBZ-TV -- your flagship station of the New England Patriots. Coverage kicks off Sunday morning with Patriots GameDay at 8 a.m. (which you can also stream on CBSBoston.com), and switch to TV38 after the game for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!