Welcome to Season 15, Episode 4 of the Unconventional Preview, a serious yet lighthearted, nostalgia-tinted look at the Patriots’ weekly matchup …
The Patriots enter Sunday’s matchup with superhero quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills at brand-new Highmark Stadium with a 1-2 record and a desperate need to find a bridge over some troubled waters.
The Patriots are coming off a 35-6 loss to the Jaguars that — let’s admit it — might have been more embarrassing than the lopsided score.
The wide receiver corps, save for Mack Hollins, sometimes looks like it is conspiring against suddenly bewildered quarterback Drake Maye. Attrition is already affecting the offensive line and the defensive backfield. The running backs specialize in putting the offense in third-and-6 situations. The kicker shanks too many attempts at gaining entrance to the Cone of Trustworthiness.
And yet none of those issues are close to the Patriots’ biggest issue. They must, above all else, find a way to repair whatever is going on with Maye, the runner-up for MVP last season who suddenly looks like the dastardly football Monstars figured out how to steal every last one of his powers.
Maye was a wonder last year, in his first full season as an NFL starter. Even with a far tougher schedule this season, it was fair to presume he would continue to play at a similarly elite level in Year 3.
But three games into this season, the wonder has us wondering, and worried.
Wondering how his decision-making, especially in the red zone, has declined to levels below his rookie year. Worrying that the abuse he took in the postseason by four of the top defenses is affecting him physically, mentally or both.
Wondering how it can be that he has thrown just one touchdown pass and six interceptions — or two fewer picks than he had all of last season, when he threw eight against 31 touchdown throws. Worrying that there’s an untold reason why his arm strength suddenly would not impress a radar gun.
The Patriots can get this right, though Allen — who has thrown for 786 yards with five touchdowns and two picks, along with six rushing touchdowns already — and the 3-0 Bills are no one’s idea of a get-right game.
But for that to happen, coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels must figure out how to pull Maye out of this rut, and soon. Because right now, he’s playing with all the confidence and poise of someone who is about to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
Kick it off, Borregales, and let’s get this one started …
Three players I’ll be watching not named Drake Maye
Hunter Henry: One of Maye’s issues is that he just cannot rely on consistent help from his supporting cast. Hollins leads the Patriots in targets (16), receptions (12), and receiving yards (156). Last season, he was third, fourth, and fourth in those categories. Kyle Williams is thus far on a Brandon Tate career path. Maye could desperately use a James White or Kevin Faulk type, but the Patriots’ tradition of having excellent third-down backs is apparently no longer a priority. Then there’s Henry, who had 60 catches for a career-high 768 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He has been somewhere between invisible and an afterthought through three games this year, with just seven catches for 71 yards.
Greg Rousseau: Say, is collecting two sacks in each of a team’s first three games good? That’s good, right? Rousseau, named AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September after racking up six sacks — yep, a symmetrical two per game — for the Bills is off to a historic start. Only Mark Gastineau for the 1984 Jets and Kevin Greene for the ’98 Steelers have accomplished that feat. Rousseau, who in his sixth NFL season is already within two of his career high in sacks, also has 15 tackles, including eight for a loss. He is going to be an extremely challenging matchup for the battered right side of the Patriots offensive line.
James Cook: Regret passing on him in your fantasy football draft, don’t you? Well, I do. Cook, perhaps because of his gliding style, low-key nature, or comfort hanging out in Allen’s shadow in Buffalo, remains the league’s most unheralded superstar skill player, someone who deserves far more fanfare than he receives. Last season, Cook led the NFL with 1,621 rushing yards, ran for 12 touchdowns and caught passes for two more, and averaged 5.2 yards per carry en route to making second-team All-Pro. Somehow, he’s been even better this year, running for 346 yards and a pair of scores through three games while averaging an absurd 6 yards per carry.
Grievance of the week
This is a broader gripe, worthy of deeper discussion on another day. But it stinks that when an obviously talented young player in this market struggles, a chorus of brayers immediately declare the player to be overrated all along. And should an injury, or two, or three occur, the athlete is pegged as soft. Rick Pitino wasn’t right about much when he coached the Celtics, but he sure was right about one thing.
Flashback!
If Maye’s genuine excellence in 2025 is starting to fade out of memory by what’s going on now, I suggest you track down a replay of the Patriots’ season-turning 23-20 win over the Bills in Week 5 last season. The magic carpet ride to Super Bowl LX commenced in front of a Sunday Night Football audience. The Patriots need to rediscover the level of hopefulness that came to them that night.
Prediction, or Jim Kelly deserved to win at least one Super Bowl …
The Bills are averaging a league-best 33.7 points under former offensive coordinator and new head coach Joe Brady. Unless the Patriots suddenly start running the ball like it’s 1978, they need an excellent game from Maye by last year’s standards. In too many ways, he’s just not in a place to do that right now. Bills 33, Patriots 19.
Chad Finn can be reached at chad.finn@globe.com.