Read ’em and weep.
I’m not going to argue with the negative commentary, and there’s not much anyone can say – even the optimists, that will put a stop to it. New England will continue to be the NFL’s favorite punching bag until they get a win or at least improve their play. Mistake-free football, not turning the ball over, maybe score an offensive touchdown that doesn’t get negated by a penalty… any of these would help.
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This Sunday the Patriots head to Buffalo to take on the undefeated, division-leading Bills. The home team is favored by 6.5 points, which seems low to me. I’m in this for the season and always believe the Pats can win, right up until they show they can’t. New England hasn’t shown yet that they can play a clean game. Add to that the many, many injuries and I can’t say with any confidence that I think they can win. Hope they do, but we’ll see. I’ll be happy with a good game.
GO PATS!!
Around the AFC East:
Buffalo Bills (3-0) vs. New England Patriots (1-2)
New York Jets (1-2) at Chicago Bears (2-1)
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Miami Dolphins (0-3) at Minnesota Vikings (3-0)
AFC Matchups:
Kansas City Chiefs (3-0) at Las Vegas Raiders (3-0)
Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) at Cleveland Browns (2-1)
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (2-1
Baltimore Ravens (2-1) vs. Tennessee Titans (0-3)
Denver Broncos (2-1) at San Francisco 49ers (3-0)
Indianapolis Colts (1-2) at Washington Commanders (1-2)
Houston Texans (0-3) at Dallas Cowboys (1-2)
Los Angeles Chargers (0-3) at Seattle Seahawks (2-1)
14th – Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News): The Patriots’ offense is missing A.J. Brown as Drake Maye keeps making critical turnovers trying to force the issue in the passing game. Those struggles are putting too much on the running game and defense to win games. [-7]
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15th – Nate Davis (USA Today): Copious problems here, notably QB Drake Maye’s. Probably doesn’t help that WR Romeo Doubs has been permitted to wear Rob Gronkowski’s No. 87. [-8]
16th – NFL Nation (ESPN): Fantasy surprise: QB Drake Maye. Maye had an ADP of 61.2, which ranked him fifth among QBs. But he has just one TD pass while throwing six interceptions, bringing him to 15 turnovers in seven games since the start of last season’s playoffs. Maye has yet to put up double-digit fantasy points in a game this season. He badly misses WR1 A.J. Brown (on IR with a high ankle sprain), and when the running game struggles to gain traction (as it did this past Sunday), things get shaky quickly. — Mike Reiss. [-10]
16th – Ian Glendon (Full Press Coverage): This is the danger of early trust. New England’s defense looked like a foundation after Week 2, then Jacksonville dropped a 35-6 reminder that the Patriots are not ready to live near the top ten yet. One ugly loss does not erase the roster, but it absolutely changes the temperature. [-9]
17th – Pete Prisco (CBS Sports): They have a Drake Maye problem right now. When does he turn it around? He isn’t playing good football, and it’s bleeding over to the rest of the team. [-3]
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17th – Ralph Vacchiano (FOX Sports): Remember when everyone thought Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye were going to start another New England dynasty? Yeah, those were fun times … eight months ago. Since then, Maye has gone from near-MVP to turnover machine. And still, it’s hard to say who’s dragging the defending AFC champs down more: him or head coach Mike Vrabel. They can’t run, their defense was a sieve this past weekend against Jacksonville, Maye is a mess … and the defending AFC champs could be finished if they lose in Buffalo this weekend. Stat To Know: Drake Maye is the first quarterback since 2007 with only one passing touchdown and at least six interceptions through his first three games of a season. [-6]
20th – Conor Orr (SI): We spent the entire playoff run telling Mike Vrabel miracle healer stories (guilty as charged). Well, his quarterback is pressing, making throws out of frustration and abandoning the flow of the offense. It’s time for that Mike Vrabel to show up for Drake Maye. [-5]
20th – Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk): There was blood on the ball; now there’s blood in the water. [-6]
22nd – Frank Schwab (Yahoo! Sports): Drake Maye’s struggles are now alarming. He leads the NFL with six interceptions and has a lost fumble, too. He’s 28th in adjusted EPA per play after leading the league in that category last season. There aren’t many instances of a quarterback who nearly won MVP in his second season falling this far in his third season, without some major injury involved. … The Patriots on the whole look bad. They lost 35-6 to the Jaguars and now just have a narrow home win against the Steelers carrying their résumé. [-11]
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31st – Nick Shook (NFL): Save for the defensively driven victory in Week 2, the Patriots have been a mess and have a major problem at quarterback. Drake Maye looks completely lost, and judging by the tone of his postgame press conference on Sunday, he might not find his way back onto New England’s intended route for some time. Mike Vrabel was right when describing his concern level as “very high” afterward. There are problems everywhere for the defending AFC champions and a simple solution isn’t in sight. [-13]
AVG RANK: 18.8 [-7.4]
Read the full article here