The Jacksonville Jaguars moved to 2-1 on the season after a 35-6 thrashing of the New England Patriots in Week 3. While Trevor Lawrence's three passing touchdowns helped spring Jacksonville to victory, so did the three turnovers committed by Drake Maye.
The Patriots offense was held in check by the Jaguars, who forced two field goals, but they committed several self-inflicted wounds in the process. The first came in the closing minutes of the first quarter, when Maye fumbled a first-and-10 snap as he attempted to cock the football back. Jacksonville recovered and springboarded a 10-play, 62-yard touchdown drive. Lawrence connected with Josh Cameron for the first score and hit Jakobi Meyers for his second passing touchdown two drives later.
New England continued to turn the ball over, including a back-breaking throw just before halftime. With the ball on the Jacksonville two-yard line, Maye's end zone pass was intercepted by Travis Hunter. The scoring opportunity was gone, and it kept the Jaguars' 14- 3 lead at the break.
The game blew open late in the third quarter when Maye threw his second interception of the afternoon, and the Jaguars returned it to the New England five-yard line. They scored one play later with a Chris Rodriguez rush, making it a 28-3 lead. The game was effectively on cruise control after that, but Jacksonville continued to pour it on with a Bhayshul Tuten rushing touchdown midway through the fourth.
Lawrence finished his day completing 19-of-29 for 182 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, while adding 25 yards rushing. Tuten rushed for a game-high 73 yards and a touchdown, while catching both of his targets for 17 yards. Maye, who was benched for Tommy DeVito in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, completed 14-of-25 passes for 199 yards and two interceptions. He also fumbled twice (one lost).
From here, the Jaguars will go on the road to face the Bengals in Week 4. As for the Patriots, they'll attempt to pick up the pieces when they head up to Orchard Park to face the Buffalo Bills in a pivotal AFC East showdown.
The Patriots quarterback continues to deal with turnovers. Maye committed three in Sunday's loss to Jacksonville, which brings him to a total of seven turnovers for the season. That is the most turnovers in the first three games of the season by the Patriots since Drew Bledsoe in 1995. Maye's six interceptions are the most in the first three games after a Super Bowl start since Rex Grossman in 2007.
It feels like he has some sort of the yips, especially with the ball simply slipping out of his hands as it did late in the first quarter.
When you go back to the postseason, Maye now has 15 total turnovers. If that doesn't put a sinking feeling into everyone involved with the Patriots, it should.
Travis Hunter made his presence known on Sunday, coming up big in one of the key moments of the contest. With a minute to go in the first half, the Patriots were looking to cut into the 14-3 Jacksonville lead with the ball inside the 5-yard line. On a third-and-goal snap, Maye rolled out to his right and tried to fit the ball into the back of the end zone. That's when Hunter soared into the air and hauled in his first career interception.
That was the best opportunity for New England to claw back into the contest, but Hunter helped slam the door shut for the Jaguars.
It'll probably get lost in the Drake Maye discourse, but Trevor Lawrence rebounded well after a lackluster start in Week 2 against the Broncos. The Jaguars quarterback completed 65.5% of his passes (19-of-29) for 182 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. The pick wasn't necessarily on Lawrence either, as the ball was tipped into the air and hauled in by a Patriots defender. Overall, Lawrence was fitting the ball into tight windows, which included a stellar shoestring catch by Parker Washington late in the third quarter.
Here's another angle, which shows the level of difficulty it took for Lawrence to fit it in.
Lawrence passed Mark Brunell for the most games with three-plus passing touchdowns (13) in Jaguars history, and also surpassed Blake Bortles for the second-most touchdown passes (105) in franchise history.
At the end of the first half, the Jaguars sent Cam Little out on the field to attempt a 70-yard field goal. Had he made it, it would've set a new NFL record, but his attempt -- while having the distance -- was wide right.
That was the first 70-plus-yard field goal attempt since Brandon Aubrey in 2024. Kickers are 0-9 on 70-plus-yard field goal attempts in the Super Bowl era.
Duval County is starting to become a house of horrors for the opposition as the Jaguars are enjoying a strong home-field advantage. Since the start of last season (so the entire Liam Coen era), Jacksonville is 9-2 at EverBank Stadium.
It was a bulldozing by the Jaguars, who capitalized on three Drake Maye turnovers to move to 2-1 on the season. Trevor Lawrence threw for 182 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
Drake Maye's day is done, with Tommy DeVito in at quarterback. Maye completed 14-of-25 for 199 yards and two interceptions. He also fumbled twice and lost one.
The floodgates are open. After Lawrence took a knee at the 1-yard line, Bhayshul Tuten barrelled the ball home. The Jaguars back now has 73 yards rushing and a touchdown today to go along with two catches for 17 yards receiving.
Anyone who bet on Lawrence to score a touchdown today may be in shambles right now. After breaking a number of tackles, the Jaguars QB had a clear path to the end zone, but, in an attempt to kill the clock, took a knee at the 1-yard line.
On the very next play after the Maye INT, Chris Rodriguez rushes for a 5-yard touchdown. It's now a 28-3 lead for Jacksonville.
Drake Maye is now up to three turnovers today. The Patriots are now on red alert with their young quarterback.
The Jaguars have blown this game wide open. After a touchdown was nullified on the previous play, Lawrence went right back to Parker Washington and the Jaguars wideout made a shoestring catch to give Jacksonville a 21-3 lead.
On a third-and-11 play, Trevor Lawrence finds Jakobki Meyers for a 13-yard gain. A facemask penalty by New England moves Jacksonville to the doorstep of the end zone.
Lost in the struggles of New England's offense is how well Bhayshul Tuten has been against the Patriots' defense. The Jaguars' second-year running back has been all over the place, rushing for 58 yards and catching two passes for 17yards.
It's been an ugly day for the Patriots, and Andy Borregales adds to it. The New England kicker misses a 38-yard field goal, so it remains a 14-3 Jacksonville lead.
A much-needed chunk play for the Patriots, as Drake Maye finds Pop Douglas for a 38-yard gain. Douglas is a Jacksonville native, so a big play for the homecoming.
The Jaguars are now up 14-3 over the Patriots thanks to Trevor Lawrence finding Jakobi Meyers for a 10-yard touchdown. Of course, Meyers is a familiar face for the Patriots after the wideout played for New England for the first four years of his career. Meyers had just three catches over the first two weeks of the season, but he made his presence felt in Week 3.
Patriots offensive line is starting to get really thin, with right guard Greg Van Rotten down after that third-down play. Van Rotten was starting today in place of Mike Onwenu, who suffered a season-ending injury last week.
After the interception, the Patriots offense continues to struggle. A Drake Maye touchdown was nullified due to a holding penalty, and an OPI on Romeo Doubs on the ensuing possession set them back even further to a first-and-30 situation.
New England needed a momentum shift and they got with thanks to Marcus Jones. Trevor Lawrence's throw over the middle gets tipped in the air and hauled in by the Patriots corner. New England now has the ball just outside the red zone.
The Patriots weren't able to answer the Jacksonville touchdown with points of their own. Instead, the offense goes three-and-out following a sack of Drake Maye on third down. The Patriots offense is averaging just 3.9 yards per play.
The Jaguars have taken a 7-0 lead in the early minutes of the second quarter. Lawrence with a savvy move to look to his left to keep the Patriots defenders still before delivering a strike over the middle. Jacksonville capitalizes on the Drake Maye turnover.
After looking a bit shaken up on the last possession, Christian Gonzalez is on the field for New England. Seems fine, which is a sigh of relief for the Patriots.
Another week, another Drake Maye turnover .... That's now 13 turnovers for the Patriots quarterback since the start of last postseason.
That's the second time today that Drake Maye has looked Hollins' way on key third downs. Both times, the Patriots wide receiver has helped move the chains, catching two of his three targets for 34 yards.
After forcing the stop with a strong tackle on third down, Christian Gonzalez appears to be dinged up a bit. The Patriots corner delivered a hard hit that seemingly hurt his shoulder. Trainers were looking at home on the sideline.
Worth noting that Rhamondre Stevenson was the first running back up for the Patriots, catching a swing pass from Drake Maye on New England's first possession. Henderson took the first rush of the game on the following snap. The Patriots will look to establish the run early.
Back-to-back penalties derailed the opening drive for Jacksonville and they were barely able to pass the 20-yard line. One thing I noticed is that Christian Gonzalez wasn't following Parker Washington on that possession. Something to watch for the rest of the game.
