Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots opened up their 2025 season in a rainy Foxborough against the Las Vegas Raiders, and did what they have done an awful lot of the last few years: they lost, this time with a final score of 20-13.
It is only Week 1, and there are plenty of opportunities to correct the issues that plagued Mike Vrabel’s team on Sunday. But still, a loss is a loss. And here is what it taught us about the 2025 version of this club.
Inconsistency keeps hurting Drake Maye: Drake Maye and the Patriots entered the season hoping that the former first-round draft pick would take a leap to join the ranks of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks. He did indeed make some incredible throws on Sunday against the, including a few nice back-shoulder completions, and a perfect throw to DeMario Douglas for the Patriots’ lone touchdown of the day.
The issue, however, is that, just as last year, he was inconsistent all day, missed multiple easy throws that made the Patriots’ life more difficult, and seemed rattled by pressure in his face. Maye has the ability to make great plays, but it’s going to be his ability to make the easy ones consistently that will allow him to reach his potential and become a great player. Until that happens, the Patriots are going to have to wonder whether or not Maye will ever be the quarterback that they drafted him to be.
The Patriots need Maye to be himself: Whether or not Maye is the guy the Patriots want him to be yet, they have to let him run more. They seemingly drilled into his head that he had to take better care of himself when running, but part of what makes him difficult to defend is his rushing ability. Not letting him run the ball more, and having zero designed runs for him, especially in a game where the rushing attack was rough to begin with, was a mistake.
Yes, you want him to rein it in a little and not put his well-being on the line on every carry. But you also have to let him be who he is if he’s going to live up to his potential. It’s going to be about finding a happy medium where he can make the crazy plays, but also make the simple plays. There’s a lot of work to be done on that end.
Second-half struggles are back on the menu: The Patriots went into the half with the lead, but they were outscored 13-3 over the final two quarters. For a team that talked about playing well in the second half and capitalizing on bad football all week leading up to the game, they did neither on Sunday and looked an awful lot like the Patriots team that collapsed down the end of last season.
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