The Patriots raced out to a 10-lead in London over the Jaguars but were unable to sustain the momentum as Jacksonville, powered by a dominant offensive performance and a punt return touchdown, took over the game in the second quarter and never looked back.
The Jags prevailed 32-16 despite a solid passing day from Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye, who threw for over 250 yards, with two touchdowns and no turnovers in the losing effort. But it was Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars attack that carried the day, posting over 350 total yards while putting 150-plus rushing yards on the Patriots defense for the third-straight week.
Here's how it all went down at Wembley Stadium.
1. Pats Get Their Fast Start
After preaching the need for a fast start all week, the Patriots put up their first opening-drive touchdown of the 2024 season against the Jags. Alex Van Pelt targeted the Jags 32nd-ranked DVOA pass defense with a pass-heavy approach out of the gate as the Patriots passing offense looked comfortable from the first snap despite slippery conditions. Drake Maye went six-of-seven on the drive, checking down on a blitz on 3rd-and-10 to JaMycal Hasty for a 16-yard touchdown to open the scoring.
It was an 11-play, 73-yard drive that wasn't without some adversity including an illegal shift penalty and a first-down sack inside the red zone that backed the offense up. New England overcame those mistakes with Rhamondre Stevenson picking up a nice run for a first down on 3rd-and-3, as well as Hasty's shifty run for the touchdown on which he avoided two different Jags tacklers.
For their part, the Patriots defense forced an opening punt as New England executed a full-team fast start to the game and the offense would respond with another sustained drive, going 73 yards in 12 plays but settling for a 41-yard Joey Slye field goal that made it 10-0 New England.
New England dominated the time of possession in the first quarter and into the early second quarter, 12:59 to 3:30, piling up eight first downs to the Jags one. Maye looked comfortable and in control of the offense, and probably should've had another shot at the end zone after just missing a third-down connection with Kendrick Bourne that went through Bourne's fingertips.
Jacksonville used that red zone stop to catapult an in-game turnaround.
2. Jags Dominate Second Quarter
After spending most of the first quarter on the sideline, Trevor Lawrence and the Jags offense got rolling on their second possession of the game, quickly traveling 68 yards in just eight plays. Lawrence completed six of his first seven passes, with the sole incompletion coming when Kyle Dugger's blitz disrupted the timing on a screen inside the red zone.
Otherwise, the Jags were ripping off big plays left and right on the drive as New England struggled to make a stand. Passes of 13 yards and 24 yards were the big plays through the air, and runs of 10 yards and 13 yards did more damage on the ground.
After an unimpressive three-and-out from the Patriots offense, the Jags offense picked right back up from where they left off, hitting a 58-yard bomb to Brian Thomas with a pinpoint throw from Lawrence. They'd stick to the ground from there with Tank Bigsby picking up the final 18 yards of the drive on the ground on three-straight running plays. He'd finish off a one-yard touchdown run to give Jacksonville their first lead of the game at 14-7.
The Patriots defense forced an initial punt, but was gashed on the ground and through the air and showed little resistance against the second-quarter onslaught. The Jags racked up 150 yards in just 14 plays with touchdowns in two drives.
Meanwhile, the Patriots offense stayed cold, with Hunter Henry's false start on 3rd-and-5 just before the two-minute warning contributing to a second-straight three-and-out.
That's when things got even worse for New England as Jacksonville's special teams delivered a huge play of their own with Parker Washington returning the punt 95 yards for the Jags third-straight touchdown. It was a first-half backbreaker, as the Patriots good start was quickly erased in a lopsided second quarter.
It was 22-10 at the half.
3. Patriots Red Zone Stops Not Enough
The Jaguars continued to move the ball with ease after receiving the opening kickoff of the second half, stringing together another 12-play drive against which the Patriots showed little resistance. However, the Pats defense finally got a red zone stop, holding the Jags to a field goal after they made it all the way down to New England's three-yard line.
It was a desperately needed stop to keep it a two-score game, but the offense would pick up just one first down before punting for their fourth-straight possession, once again putting their defense quickly back on the field.
Jacksonville then reeled off a 17-play drive and though the Patriots would get their second-straight red zone stop on a 4th-and-1 run stop, it still ate up a whopping 11:10 of game time. It was the longest drive in the NFL this season, despite scoring no points.
Two third-down stops inside their own 10-yard line was a small positive for the Patriots defense that continued to be gashed at a rate of 6.8 yards-per-play early in the fourth quarter.
4. Big Play Maye
The Patriots offense came back to life in the fourth quarter, thanks to a handful of big passing plays from Maye. First came a third-down conversion to Hunter Henry up the seam, a difficult catch that the reliable tight end came down with that was good for 32 yards. Then Maye hit Kayshon Boutte for 33 more yards on a throw up the sideline.
On 3rd-and-15 from the Jacksonville 15 Maye fired a dime up the seam to K.J. Osborn for New England's first touchdown since the first quarter. The drive highlighted Maye's growing confidence as well as his downfield passing skill.
The two-point conversion throw was incomplete when Ja'Lynn Polk fell down on the route, but the Pats still punched back after two lifeless quarters, cutting the lead to 25-16.
In turn, the Patriots defense forced their first punt since the first quarter but the deficit was nine points with just under four points left. It was too little too late, as Maye and the offense couldn't replicate the big plays of their previous drive that gave them a quick score to get back into the game.
The Jags ran in one more touchdown to make it 32-16.
5. The Patriots are now 1-6
With the disappointing international loss, the Patriots fall to 1-6 on the 2024 season, their sixth-straight loss since opening the season with an upset win over the Bengals and their longest losing streak since 1993.
It was an encouraging start for New England, scoring on their opening drive for the first time all season and posting back-to-back double-digit-play scoring drives. Suddenly it looked like the offense had found new life but the narrative quickly changed in the second quarter, as the defense and special teams both allowed big plays and scores with Jacksonville quickly erasing the 10-point deficit and overtaking the game.
That's a hard pill to swallow as the game of whack-a-mole continues for the '24 Pats. Just as their offense starts to show something the other two units can't play the kind of complementary game they need to execute a win.
The Pats return home next week to face Aaron Rodgers and the Jets with new addition Davante Adams a dangerous new part of their attack that a reeling Patriots defense will have to deal with. Kickoff is slated for 1 pm EST on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
