Patriots lose sixth straight, falling to Jaguars 32-16 in London

LONDON — The Patriots are returning home from London with another loss after falling to a desperate Jacksonville Jaguars team, 32-16, at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. 

New England has now lost six straight and sits at 1-6 on the season. Sunday’s loss will make for a long flight back to New England for Jerod Mayo’s squad.

“We’re a soft football team across the board,” Mayo said after the loss. “You talk about what makes a tough football team, that’s being able to run the ball, being able to stop the run, and being able to cover  kicks. We did none of those things today.

“Back to the drawing board,” added Mayo. “We can’t sit here and pout. We just have to put a game together.”

Things started well for the Patriots, who scored their first opening-drive touchdown of the season after a nice series by Drake Maye and company. That opening-drive score was capped off with a 16-yard catch-and-run touchdown by running back JaMycal Hasty, as the Patriots converted on three third downs to take a 7-0 lead.

The Patriots added a field goal early in the second quarter to build a 10-0 lead, but it went downhill from there.

The Jaguars crushed the New England run defense, rushing for 171 yards on 39 carries — good for 4.4 yards per attempt. Jacksonville ran the ball 19 straight plays at one point in the second half, and the Patriots did little to stop it. Tank Bigsby lived up to his name, plowing through the New England defense for 118 yards and two touchdowns.

Maye battled again in his second career start and made some throws that will make New England fans feel good about the future. The rookie QB completed 26 of his 37 passes for 276 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

Jaguars scored touchdowns on final three possessions of first half

After the Patriots kicked a field goal early in the second quarter, the Jaguars found the end zone on each of their next three possessions to completely flip the game. 

The Jags scored their first touchdown on an eight-play, 68-yard drive. After Trevor Lawrence moved the ball downfield with a 24-yard connection with Christian Kirk, Jacksonville picked up 23 yards on two straight runs. The Jags got on the board when the Patriots left Brian Thomas wide open in the middle of the field for an easy six-yard touchdown reception.

The New England offense went three-and-out, and Jacksonville took their first lead of the game with a six-play, 82-yard touchdown drive highlighted by a 58-yard bomb from Lawrence to Thomas over Patriots corner Christian Gonzalez. A few plays later, Bigbsy plowed into the end zone from a yard out to give the Jaguars a 14-10 lead. 

The Patriots went three-and-out again and gave the ball back to Jacksonville right after the two-minute warning, though the Jags didn’t have the ball for very long. Parker Washington fielded a 66-yard punt from Bryce Baringer and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown, and the ensuing 2-point conversion gave Jacksonville a 22-10 lead with 1:34 in the half.

The Jaguars scored 22 unanswered points in the second quarter while the New England offense turned in three straight three-and-outs, picking up just 19 yards over those three drives.

Patriots get new life after defensive stand early in fourth quarter

The Jaguars added another field goal on their first possession of the second half, and though the Patriots picked up a first down on their first drive after halftime, they punted it back when Maye was nearly picked off on a bad third-down pass.

While the Jags ran all over the New England defense on their next possession — which ate 11:24 off the clock and went into the fourth quarter — the Patriots came up with a big stand deep in their own territory. Bigsby had run for 43 yards on the drive, but was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 carry at the New England 6-yard line.

Maye and company took over, and needed just 2:48 to march 94 yards downfield and into the end zone. Maye hit Hunter Henry for 32 yards on a third-and-8, and then Kayshon Boutte down the left sideline for 33 yards to set the Patriots up at the Jacksonville 19.

Two plays later, Maye hit K.J. Osborn with a bullet of a pass for a 22-yard yard touchdown. The Patriots couldn’t convert on a two-point try, as Maye’s pass to Ja’Lynn Polk fell incomplete. The Pats trailed 25-16 with 8:22 left in the game.

Patriots’ offense doesn’t do anything with final chance

The Patriots’ defense came up with another stop and got the offense the ball back at the New England 12-yard line with 3:58 remaining. But the drive stalled after New England moved the chains just once.

Facing a third-and-2, Maye scrambled and fired off an incomplete pass downfield to Henry. But Demontrey Jacobs was flagged for an offensive hold to set up a third-and-12, and Travon Walker beat Mike Onwenu to sack Maye ahead of the two-minute warning.

Maye’s desperation heave on fourth-and-26 was tipped and fell incomplete. Bigsby ran for another touchdown as the Jaguars doubled up on the Patriots on Sunday for just their second win of the season.

Up next for Patriots: The New York Jets

The 1-6 Patriots will now return to Gillette Stadium for a Week 8 showdown with the New York Jets, who beat them 23-3 in New Jersey in Week 3. The Patriots have won just once on their home turf over the last two seasons.