No positives to take from Patriots' humiliating loss to Chargers
FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots were simply putrid on Saturday as the Los Angeles Chargers humiliated them, 40-7, at Gillette Stadium. If you didn't think it could possibly get any worse for this team, it got worse on Saturday.
Usually we try to dig up some positives in this space, but let's be completely honest: There were no "Ups" from New England's debacle. It felt like the Chargers were a big brother just toying with their younger sibling. They got just about anything and everything they wanted on Saturday, while the Patriots are still looking for answers.
Drake Maye made a nice touchdown throw, but he also turned the ball over again. The Patriots' offense wasn't able to get anything going as the offensive line struggled throughout, and the team scored its only touchdown on a broken play. Meanwhile, the New England defense was carved up by Justin Herbert and company, as Los Angeles completely controlled the game.
The end result was New England's worst loss of the season, and a second six-game losing streak in Jerod Mayo's first season. Somehow, the Patriots are a worse team now than they were when the season began.
There has been no consistent improvement with this team from week-to-week, and they progressively got worse throughout Saturday's drubbing. Coming out of the bye week, the goal was for the Patriots to play well and build toward next season. While last week's loss to the Bills had some upside, it's now sandwiched between two blowout losses -- a 30-17 defeat in Arizona and Saturday's walloping on their home field.
Outside of Maye, no one in New England should feel safe after Saturday's embarrassing result. It's the kind of loss that usually leads to wholesale changes in the offseason, though we'll see if the Krafts will agree with that sentiment after next week's regular-season finale against the Bills.
Here are all the "Downs" from the latest embarrassment from the 2024 New England Patriots.
UP and DOWN: Drake Maye
OK, there is one single play to highlight before we head back to the darkness that was Saturday's defeat. This throw by Maye off a free play was beautiful.
Did you enjoy that? Good, cause that's all the positivity we have from Saturday's loss.
Maye looked like a rookie more on Saturday than he has throughout the season. He was sped up as the offensive line struggled to keep the Los Angeles pass rush away from him, and he had another horrendous turnover on a failed lateral/backwards pass. (Maybe rip those ones out of the playbook, Alex Van Pelt.) Maye also had a few key misses, as he finished 12-of-22 for just 117 yards.
At least Maye didn't throw a pick this week for the first time since Week 8. But he also took a very unnecessary shot to the head at the end of a scramble early in the game, which knocked him out for a series. He can't be putting himself in those spots, and needs to learn when to just go down while scrambling. (At least he was much better at doing that the rest of the way.)
Maye has just one more game in his rookie season, and then the pressure to fix these mistakes will really ramp up in 2025.
DOWN: Antonio Gibson DIDN'T start for Patriots
Before the game, Mayo said that Antonio Gibson would be starting in place of Rhamondre Stevenson, who lost another fumble last week in Buffalo. But when the New England offense took the field for the first time on Saturday, Stevenson was lined up in the backfield.
Stevenson only got two carries for the afternoon while Gibson got a dozen. But why the change to start the game?
Mayo wouldn't really say.
"It's a coach's decision," Mayo said to a pair of inquiries. "I'll leave it at that."
But why say anything before the game if there was a chance the game plan would change? It's just another instance of Mayo having to walk back something he said, though that usually waits until Monday. This time, Mayo couldn't even make it to kickoff without having something to walk back.
It's fair to question is he has any control down in Patriot Place.
DOWN: Pats' defense put no pressure on Justin Herbert
Mayo should be feeling the heat because the team is 3-13, and because the Patriots defense has taken a huge step back throughout the season. The Pats generated zero pressure on Herbert throughout the game, and he carved them up for 281 yards and three touchdowns.
There was nothing the Patriots could do against the Chargers on Saturday, as Los Angeles completely controlled the game from the get-go. The Chargers dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for 40:34 with the Patriots only managing a measly 19:26. Los Angeles ran 29 more offensive plays than New England, and outgained the Patriots to the tune of 428-181.
The Patriots got their butts absolutely whooped on Saturday. While Mayo's seat is pretty hot at the moment, defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington should be really worried about a potential call into the principal's office on Monday.
DOWN: Third down
How did the Chargers hold on to the ball for so long on Saturday? The Patriots' defense couldn't get them off the field, letting Los Angeles go 10-of-17 on third down and a perfect 2-of-2 on fourth down.
The Patriots' offense was an abysmal 2-of-10 on third down, and 0-for-3 on their fourth-down tries.
"No complementary football, and that's what you get," Mayo said after the loss.
DOWN: Ladd McConkey was real good for Los Angeles
Eliot Wolf could have drafted McConkey with the 34th pick in last year's draft, and he would have looked incredible with Maye this season. Instead, he's looked incredible with Herbert in Los Angeles, and on Saturday he torched the Patriots.
McConkey consistently schooled veteran corner Jonathan Jones and caught eight passes for 94 yards, including two of Herbert's three touchdown passes.
The Patriots drafted Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker with the picks acquired in that draft swap with Los Angeles. Polk was targeted once on Sunday (which he didn't catch) and has just 12 receptions for the year. Baker also had just one target on Saturday, and is still looking for his first NFL reception.
DOWN: Christian Gonzalez injured
Second-year corner Christian Gonzalez has been another bright spot for the Patriots this season, but his day ended in second quarter on Saturday. Gonzalez was shaken up when he hit his head on McConkey while trying to bring down the receiver, and he was ruled out a short time later with a concussion.
Even if Gonzalez clears concussion protocol before next Sunday, it'd probably be in New England's best interest to keep him out against the Bills.
DOWN: Home Field advantage doesn't exist anymore
The Patriots are now 1-6 at home this season, after going 1-7 at Gillette Stadium last season. They are just 10-23 at home over the last four seasons.
The Patriots haven't had a winning season at home since 2020, when they went 5-3 in front of empty stands.
