Ups and downs: The Patriots get steamrolled by the Jaguars, meaning another ugly loss

LONDON – No matter who they play or where they play, the 2024 New England Patriots are simply a bad football team. Sunday's 32:16 defeat against the weak Jaguars in London is a new low for the Patriots — at least until they do something to surpass it next week.

The defeat on Sunday had Jerod Mayo calls his team “soft” and Patriots fans are wondering how low the team can fall over the next 11 weeks. It's been demoralizing losses week after week for the Patriots, who have lost six in a row since their Week 1 win over the Bengals.

New England is currently riding its longest losing streak since 1993 and the Patriots are currently the frontrunner in the clubhouse for the top overall pick in next year's NFL Draft. It's hard to fall out of a basement window, but this Patriots team could probably do it.

The Patriots will have a long flight home to reflect on everything that went wrong in London on Sunday. Here's a look at what doomed New England against Jacksonville, as well as a few things that actually went right in the team's Week 7 loss at Wembley Stadium.

UP: The Patriots scored first!

Thanks to an aggressive game plan from Drake Maye and OC Alex Van Pelt, the Patriots scored their first opening touchdown of the season. Maye dropped eight passes on the first drive and completed six of them while recording a sack. He made several good blitz reads, including a short pass to JaMycal Hasty on a third-and-10 that ended with the running back dancing into the end zone for a 16-yard score.

The Patriots converted three third downs on their first drive, putting together one of their best series of the season. If only the rest of the game went like this for New England.

DOWN: The Patriots were attacked by the Jaguars in the second quarter

After taking a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter, the Patriots were completely manhandled by Jacksonville for the remainder of the first half. The Jaguars got everything they wanted on offense through the air and on the ground, putting together two touchdown drives that covered 150 yards in 14 plays. Jacksonville's special teams also came through strong with a 96-yard punt return touchdown by Parker Washington, giving the Jags a 22-10 lead before halftime.

The Patriots' offense stopped three times after putting points on the board on their first two possessions. They had no answers for Jacksonville on offense, defense or special teams in the second quarter.

DOWN: “Soft” Patriots couldn’t stop the run again

Things got downright ugly as the Patriots tried to stop Jacksonville's rushing attack. The Jags ran for 171 yards on 39 carries on the day as Tank Bigsby and D'Ernest Johnson ran past or past would-be defenders with relative ease. At one point in the second half, Jacksonville made 19 straight plays because the Patriots couldn't do anything to stop them.

The Patriots were also unable to run the ball themselves, rushing for just 38 yards on 15 carries, an average of 2.5 yards per attempt. Maye was the team's leading rusher for the second straight week with 18 yards on three carries.

DOWN: New England's third down defense

The Jaguars went on a 17-play streak that began midway through the third quarter and ate up nearly four minutes early in the fourth quarter. Jacksonville didn't score any points after the drive as they were fourth-and-one at the New England 6, but it took 11:24 to make the score 25-16.

This drive could have ended much sooner, but the Patriots allowed the Jags three consecutive third-down conversions: a five-yard completion from Lawrence to Brian Thomas Jr. on a third-and-4, an 11-yard scramble by Lawrence on a third-and-8 and a five-yard run by Bigsby on a third-and-2.

Overall, Jacksonville went 6-10 on Sunday to place third. Thomas' second-quarter touchdown came on a third-and-goal play where the New England defense strangely decided not to cover the receiver in the middle of the field.

UP: Drake Maye has done some big boy plays

Maye continues to be one of the few bright spots on the team. On the first drive that ended, he took off and made several more throws that will give fans hope for the future. Early in the fourth quarter, he was surgically successful on a 94-yard touchdown drive, a drive that included a 32-yard connection with Hunter Henry on third down, a beautiful 33-yard connection with Kayshon Boutte on the left sideline and…ended with a 22-yard bullet of a touchdown pass to KJ Osborn on third-and-15.

Maye and the Pats only needed 2:48 on that drive to get from the New England 6 into the Jags' end zone, making it a 25-16 game with 8:22 to play.

Maye was 26 of 37 for 276 yards and two touchdowns and didn't turn the ball over on Sunday. The rookie missed a few shots but looked much more comfortable and controlled in his second NFL start.

Down: Polk's struggles continue

After that second touchdown pass from Maye, the score was 25-16 as the Patriots failed to convert the two-point conversion. Maye looked for rookie Ja'Lynn Polk on this conversion, but the receiver slipped and Maye's pass fell incomplete.

That summed up another frustrating day from Polk, who didn't catch any of the three passes that came his way. The rookie had a pass from Maye in his hand (or at least in one of his hands) on New England's first drive, but couldn't complete the catch.

Polk left late in the game with a head injury.

DOWN: Still no discipline from the Patriots

The Patriots made seven substitutions in London, an improvement from recent weeks. However, the timing of penalties remains an issue.

Hunter Henry didn't know the snap count before halftime and was charged with an embarrassing false start that turned a third-and-5 into a third-and-10. Maye went down to Polk on that third-and-long situation, and you can imagine how that went.

After that play, the Patriots' special teams gave up Washington's 96-yard touchdown return. Bryce Baringer's kick came in the middle of the field, and many Patriots players chose a poor route to the return man, allowing him to run into the end zone with ease.

Jahlani Tavai came up empty on a tackle attempt against Washington on that setback and was later hit with a neutral zone violation on a Jacksonville extra point attempt. This allowed Doug Pederson to attempt a two-point conversion and Lawrence found Thomas in the back of the end zone, giving Jacksonville a 22-10 lead at the time.

And even though the Patriots didn't have much of a chance when they got the ball back with 3:58 left, the offensive line didn't do them any favors. Left tackle Demontrey Jacobs was stopped for a touchdown that gave the team a third-and-12, and Maye was immediately sacked for a 14-yard loss on the ensuing play. That was essentially all for the Patriots, as Maye's fourth down pass fell incomplete and the Jags scored a touchdown three plays later.