New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks out from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks out from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Sunday was a fireworks show.
Touchdowns, deep passes and highlight grabs galore in Foxboro.
The Patriots had just one problem.
A few of those fireworks went off in their hands.
Drake Maye’s three interceptions marred what could have been one of the best quarterback duels of the NFL season Sunday. The Patriots defense did its part to stage said duel, allowing more passing yards to Jordan Love in three quarters than it had in a full game in more than five years. Love was a human grenade launcher, detonating the Pats’ secondary with deep ball after deep ball, not to mention his three touchdowns.
Love finished with the NFL’s second-highest average depth of target this season at 13.2 yards. No Patriots defensive back was spared, least of all Christian Gonzalez.
Gonzalez played his worst game as a pro. He allowed more than 100 yards in single coverage, with some outlets claiming the number is actualy closer to 200. Gonzalez gave up catches at the short, deep and intermediate levels. His run defense was more of a casual suggestion than hard-nosed resistance, ducking inside of blockers instead of taking them head-on.
The Patriots cannot survive, and will not survive, battles with playoff-caliber teams like the Packers if Gonzalez and/or Maye play like they did Sunday. But that wasn’t all that plagued the Pats over the weekend.
Here’s what else the film revealed about the Patriots’ latest loss, with all personnel, play-calling and team stats pulled before garbage time began with 9:17 left in the game:
Drake Maye
21-of-38 for 299 yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs, 4 sacks, 3 rushing yards
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is sacked during the fourth quarter of Sunday's game at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is sacked during the fourth quarter of Sunday's game at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Accurate throw percentage: 69.7%
Under pressure: 7-of-15 for 108 yards, TD, 4 sacks
Against the blitz: 5-of-12 for 52 yards, 3 sacks
Behind the line: 1-of-2 for 4 yards
0-9 yards downfield: 13-of-14 for 115 yards, TD
10-19 yards downfield: 1-of-7 for 10 yards, INT
20+ yards downfield: 6-of-10 for 170 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Notes: If Maye’s interceptions felt familiar, that’s because they were.
Much like his picks from Weeks 1-3, Maye made poor decisions on two of the three interceptions. On the Patriots’ opening drive, he couldn’t stand still inside a roomy pocket and rushed forward to attempt an off-balance, cross-body throw to Mack Hollins after staring Hollins down. Conceptually, Hollins’ intermediate crossing route should have been open based on Green Bay’s coverage, but Maye attempted the throw anyway even as safety Xavier McKinney followed his eyes and drove on the route for an easy pick.
On his second interception, Maye seemed to predetermine a deep sideline shot for Kyle Williams after correctly reading the Packers’ drop into Cover 6. One thing he didn’t account for was the cornerback opposite Williams covering him downfield instead of remaining in the flat as he’s supposed to within that coverage. Executing plays as they were either drawn up or as they unfolded in practice, instead of how they unfold in the game, was also an issue for Maye during the Pats’ loss at Jacksonville. This pick, at least, was a fine throw that became a tip-drill interception.
On his third and final turnover, Maye stared down Eli Raridon running the same route Hollins had, a dig route, on another play where his intended target should have been open but wasn't. This time, McKinney jumped it from a quarters, AKA Cover 4, assignment and deserves credit for another excellent play. But Maye had to be more wary of the All-Pro safety than he was. Williams' clear-out route to that side was no guarantee to create space for Raridon and take McKinney out of the play. And, as Williams ran that clear-out route at three-quarters speed, shockingly, it didn't.
Otherwise, Maye hit four several impressive downfield throws, including a 28-yarder to Raridon, his 30-yard wheel-route touchdown to Rhamondre Stevenson and a couple explosive plays to DeMario Douglas. He also absorbed several hits in another game where pressure affected 50% of his dropbacks. Maye's accuracy waned some under pressure by his standard (arguably the highest in the league based on the last season and a half), but that pressure did not affect his decision-making.
Critical areas
New England Patriots safety Craig Woodson takes down Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden during the third quarter of Sunday's game at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
New England Patriots safety Craig Woodson takes down Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden during the third quarter of Sunday's game at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Turnovers: Patriots 4, Packers 0
Explosive play rate: Patriots 19.1%, Packers 18.9%
Success rate: Patriots 44.7%, Packers 50.9%
Red-zone efficiency: Patriots 2-2, Packers 4-5
Defensive pressure rate: Patriots xx%, Packers 46.5%
Offense
Game plan
Personnel breakdown: 76.5% of snaps in 11 personnel, 15% of snaps in 12 personnel, 8.5% of snaps in 12J personnel.***
Personnel production: 47.2% success rate in 11 personnel, 57.1% success rate in 12 personnel, 0% success rate in 12J personnel.
First-down down play-calls: 71% pass (59% success rate), 29% run (29% success rate)
Play-action rate: 14%
Whatever game plan Josh McDaniels carried into work quickly went out the window when the Patriots trailed 14-0 after eight minutes, then 24-7 in the second quarter.
The Pats were forced to live out of three-receiver personnel, a hard place to be given their depth at the position, but McDaniels had enough answers to Green Bay's rotation of zone coverages with hi-lo concepts within his short passing game. He also targeted the intermediate areas with play-action passes and vertical concepts that cleared space for deep in-breaking routes. However, the Patriots struggled to create consistent openings on those plays, with how well Green Bay jumped crossing routes, including on two of Maye's three interceptions.
The Packers also got home multiple times with a weak-side overload blitz, which early on forced Maye into a throwaway and a short scramble. Later, Green Bay flipped that to the strong side of a Patriots formation and collected a sack midway through the third quarter.
On the positive side, the Patriots successfully targeted Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie and nickelback Javon Bullard, whom Efton Chism beat for an 8-yard touchdown running a flat route after delaying his release. Stevenson also victimized linebacker Nick Niemann on his wheel-route touchdown, a matchup the offense clearly liked. Douglas was also featured against man-to-man coverage and finished with more than 100 yards.
It's likely McDaniels, who opened with six offensive linemen, wanted to run the ball from heavier personnel more often than he did. But the game script, much like the game itself, got away from the Patriots.
Player stats
New England Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins makes a touchdown catch during the third quarter of Sunday's game at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
New England Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins makes a touchdown catch during the third quarter of Sunday's game at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Broken tackles: RB Rhamondre Stevenson, RB Corey Kiner, WR Mack Hollins
Pressure allowed: Team 3 (2 sacks, hurry), LG Walter Rouse 2 (sack, hurry), RG Matt Pryor 2 (QB hit, hurry), RT Morgan Moses 2 (QB hit, hurry), LG Ben Brown 2 (2 hurries), RB Lan Larison 2 (2 hurries), C Jared Wilson (sack), LT Caleb Lomu (hurry), RT Marcus Bryant (hurry), RB Rhamondre Stevenson (hurry)
Run stuffs allowed: TE Tanner Arkin
Drops: Stevenson
Notes
Rhamondre Stevenson, who hurt his knee, is the most essential player on this offense after Maye. Yes, he fumbled, but the Patriots need his pass protection and make-or-miss rushing ability more than ever, and his ability to handle blitzes showed up multiple times against the Packers.
Behind Stevenson, Corey Kiner offers some tackle-breaking ability, but Kiner and Lan Larison both appear to be weak in blitz pickup. That puts more on Maye's plate moving forward
Out wide, Maye clearly wanted to feed Mack Hollins, whose returns helps every facet of their offense. The same cannot be said for Kyle Williams, who dropped one pass and finished without a catch. It might be time for a healthy scratch for Williams.
When Williams is running clear-out routes that the defense doesn't respect, that says just about everything about the impact he has on the field.
I am once again calling for more DeMario Douglas space plays. Douglas' lone costly error was stopping on what could have been a fourth pick for Maye, where the quarterback expected him to break out toward the sideline just before halftime, and Douglas instead stopped on a deep curl. Likely a man/zone coverage read mixup.
The Patriots could use a veteran No. 3 tight end they trust in run and passing situations. Tanner Arkin, who was released Monday, never lived up to his pre-draft billing as an impact blocker, even for an undrafted free agent.
In case you missed it: Will Campbell has made a Year 2 leap. Missed snaps or not, Campbell didn't allow a single pressure. He was oustanding, and delivered some nice run-blocks on the move, too.
Left guard is a position to watch again, with Ben Brown likely out against the Lions this weekend. His backup, third-stringer Walter Rouse, allowed a sack in barely one half of play.
Defense
Game plan
Personnel breakdown: 64% three-corner nickel package, 32% three-safety nickel, 4% base defense.****
Coverage breakdown: 62% zone, 38% man
Blitz rate: 30.3%
Blitz efficacy: 80% offensive success rate and 14.6 yards per play allowed
At some point, when your coverage players are losing 1-on-1 matchups as often as the Patriots' did Sunday, and particularly against a quarterback like Jordan Love, the Xs and Os don't matter.
But the Pats' coaches were hardly blameless in what happened to their defense Sunday. They knew exactly how Green Bay would attack, and let the Packers fire at will. No defense should suffer an explosive pass rate of 24.1%, like the Patriots allowed to Love in three-plus quarters.
Love drilled the Patriots, and defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr, in the two areas they've managed to build into strengths: blitzing and man coverage. Love posted an 80% success rate against the blitz and a 60% mark versus man-to-man. Green Bay scored three touchdowns when the Patriots played man coverage.
Kuhr's primary changeups within a plan built around man-to-man Cover 1 calls and Cover 4 (AKA quarters) was Cover 3 and disguised Cover 2, including a version had cornerback Carlton Davis dropping into a deep-half zone and a safety slipping underneath on multiple snaps. One one of those snaps, Davis hesitated against a play-action fake and gave up a 43-yard completion to Christian Watson before halftime, the same one here he committed defensive pass interference.
The Patriots arguably should have taken a more straightforward, bend-but-don't-break approach against an offense that ranked dead last in run-blocking and pass-blocking entering kickoff. Sit back, and sit tight for the inevitable deep balls. Hell, the Patriots had eight run-stuffs. They stopped regular hand-offs whenever they wanted to, especially in short-yardage.
Instead, Kuhr often stacked the box on early downs and let Love drop bombs behind those dropping safeties and linebackers who were in predictable calls. No surprise, his defense went kaboom.
Player stats
Pressure: OLB Dre'Mont Jones 4 (0.5 sack, 3 hurries), DL Milton Williams 3 (3 hurries), OLB Elijah Ponder 2 (1.5 sacks), DL Christian Barmore 2 (sack, hurry), DT Joshua Farmer 2 (QB hit, hurry), LB Robert Spillane (hurry), LB Christian Elliss (hurry), DL Leonard Taylor (hurry), DL Cory Durden, DL DaQuan Jones (hurry),
Run stuffs: Team 4, Durden, Elliss, Williams
Pass deflections: CB Christian Gonzalez, CB Carlton Davis
Missed tackles: Spillane 2, S Craig Woodson, S Jaylen Reed, Gonzalez, Jacas, Ponder
Notes
Christian Gonzalez was at the heart of the Patriots' worst failures. Packers receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden both racked up more than 80 yards on his tab, according to Next Gen Stats. He was victimized on some seemingly perfect passes (Love played out of his mind), but this was a poor performance.
Something to watch: Packers completed five passes on out routes against Gonzalez, after Miami hit him for two out-route completions the week before. Green Bay and Miami run similar offenses, but if there is something to that, it's Gonzalez's lack of aggression in coverage.
Gonzalez and Marcus Jones failed to get on the same page on Love's first touchdown pass, when it appeared Gonzalez wanted to switch from a straight man-to-man defense to an inside-out combo coverage. Both players went away from Watson, who scored.
In the secondary, Kevin Byard was caught napping on Golden's 49-yard catch in the first quarter, and was a non-factor on other deep passes.
Fellow safety Craig Woodson missed a tackle and Carlton Davis has been a vending machine for completions in man-to-man coverage, giving up 10 catches on 11 targets this season, per Pro Football Focus.
Non-factor games for inside linebackers Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss, who were led astray multiple times by Packers play-action fakes. Spillane's impact as a blitzer is underrated (particularly as the pick man on stunts), but he's not at the level he was in 2025.
Non-stop effort from outside linebackers Dre'Mont Jones and Gabe Jacas continues to be rewarded in pass-rush situations, but the lack of discipline on the offside penalties were an absolute killer. Jacas handed Green Bay a first-down conversion by jumping on third-and-5 in the first half.
Solid outing from defensive tackle Milton Williams, who tallied multiple pressures and a run-stuff for the first time this season.
Christian Barmore had a few impressive wins as a pass rusher, but why isn't he playing more on early downs? Look no further than the two-yard touchdown run Green Bay had shortly before halftime. Barmore was cleared well out of his gap by a single block and ended up on the ground on the other side of the Packers center.
Defensive tackle Cory Durden had a run-stuff, but his worst mistake overshadowed most positive plays: rushing behind Love on his scramble touchdown in the first quarter.
*Explosive plays are defined as runs of 12-plus yards and passes of 20-plus yards.
**Success rate is an efficiency metric measuring how often an offense stays on schedule. A play is successful when it produces positive EPA (Expected Points Added).
***11 personnel = one running back, one tight end; 12 personnel = one running back, two tight ends; 13 personnel = one back, three tight ends; 21 personnel = two backs, one tight end; 21H = two halfbacks, one tight end; jumbo personnel = two backs, two tight ends, six offensive linemen.
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