Patriots Week 1 Offense - Good and Bad
The New England Patriots lost the season opener to the Seattle Seahawks.
They scored just 10 points, had just 277 yards of offense, and averaged just 4.1 yards per play.
A brutal display from the 2025 MVP runner-up and Assistant Coach of the Year on offense.
So let's just talk about what happened.
What I liked, what I didn't like. What there is to be concerned about, and what is no worry.
To preface, I am not Bill Walsh. I am not an offensive expert. I am simply going to bring up things that happened within the Patriots offense and say what I do, or do not, like about them. And this is more specific to the passing offense, with the world being all in Drake Maye's grill, I wanted to review the game myself, and ended up feeling compelled to write an article.
I will not provide any cut-ups in this article, but if you go to my Twitter/X page, @GridironGoldM_, I did post some clips of the Patriots-Seahawks game there.
Let's get into it.
Potential Concerns
The first, and most concerning, thing that jumped off when watching the NFL opener was Drake Maye's arm. It may be my imagination, but he seemed to lack the natural zip he had a season ago. The ball didn't jump out of his hand, but we also didn't get to see him throw downfield much. He also rarely had a clean pocket to throw out of, often fading away.
But if Maye's arm is not 100%, especially with the shoulder issue he had at the end of the 2025 regular season, that could linger negatively all season.
On the topic of Maye, it seems like his best connection is with Mack Hollins. With what New England invested into this receiver room, that is less than ideal. But it was only Week 1.
Staying with the receiving room, it was bad. A.J. Brown has an ankle sprain, and we are not sure how long he'll be out. He looked fine in the snaps he did play.
More concerning, the $68m man Romeo Doubs looked horrendous. He wasn't even on the field full-time until Brown went down with his ankle issue. He looked afraid of contact. Doubs saw 3 targets, resulting in 0 receptions, including 1 drop and one deflected interception. On that INT, Doubs gave little effort to catch the ball. I'm not sure what he was dealing with, but New England has to hope he gets over it.
Beyond the two big additions, the Patriots saw disappointing YAC results from the receiving group. Demario Douglas had two nice screen results, but no yards after catch on actual routes. It's hard to have success with bad YAC results.
I also wish, especially with A.J. Brown going down, the Patriots utilized Kyle Williams. His speed is the best weapon they have, outside of Brown's general dominance, and it was not used against a stout defense.
Now for the offensive line. I said I wasn't an offensive guru at the start of this article. This overly applies to offensive line play. But most people could watch that film and understand it was less than ideal.
I think New England upgraded their offensive line this offseason, and I believe Will Campbell is much better than what he showed in the postseason, which earned him an awful rap among the NFL media. But the left side of the Patriots offensive line had a rough opening night.
They struggled with the twists from Seattle's front, although it's hard to blame them fully(more below). Campbell and new LG Alijah Vera-Tucker could not hold up for long enough, getting controlled by the Seahawks starters on the D-Line. Seattle defenders would control them and almost swap gaps, and the Patriots could not pass off the rushers, leading to constant pressure.
The protection plan overall was messy, especially against such a team that schemes so many blitz looks. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels overall looked unprepared. It is tough to gameplan against Mike Macdonald, but you simply can not allow that much pressure when Seattle sends 4 rushers, or even three! There were too many errors in protection by the Patriots.
This is the "more below." While the Patriots offensive line was often manhandled by Seattle, it's hard to blame them for all of it. You can't expect a man to hold up for over 2.5 seconds against Byron Murphy. It's hard to hold up for long enough when McDaniels' doesn't have any routes developing quick enough.
When Drake Maye would hit the top of his dropback, it rarely coincided with receivers breaking open on their routes. And with the intense pressure from Seattle, the QB can not really afford to wait around in the pocket. So the struggles are not all on the offensive line. The biggest irk when watching this game was the Patriots' receivers were not close to breaking out of their routes when Maye hits the top of his drop. Especially on 3rd down. Why are they running past the sticks!? All of them!
Going up against this elite defense is tough, but it's hard to be encouraged at all when your QB was hardly on the same page as his receivers, struggled to get elite velocity on his passes, your biggest investment ended the night injured, and your second biggest investment having one of the worst games I have ever watched.
Things to watch as the season progresses.
Seattle Effect?
There were some more concerns, but these appear to be more Seattle defense based.
Drake Maye appeared unwilling to step up in the pocket, opting to scramble outside of it instead. When he sensed pressure, there were some opportunities to step up and buy an extra half second, try to push the ball downfield. Instead, Maye ran every time.
Now, I can't blame him. Seattle has the best interior defensive line in football. I, too, would not want to step up into a pocket in which Byron Murphy and Leonard Williams are on the verge of penetrating.
Overall, Maye operated in the backfield just fine, and I expect his aggressiveness in the pocket to look normal against more normal opponents.
We will talk more about the screen game in a minute. But New England ran a lot of screens on Wednesday night. And I would like to speak to Josh McDaniels' to ensure that this will not be a focal point of the offense moving forwards, especially not to Rhamondre Stevenson.
It's tough to say out loud with the way Maye performed, but you have to let your QB rip the ball downfield. Especially with the supposed upgraded receiving room. And again, where was Kyle Williams!?
The screen game cratered the rhythm of the Patriots offense, at least in my opinion. You can not center your offense around that. Playing defense was fairly easy for Seattle on Wednesday, even with two backup DBs in the game.
Again, I think this was a gameplan specific thing, not a Patriots offense staple. It's just a shame they didn't have a more explosive running back on the receiving end of those screens.
A Success
I do not want to completely gloom and doom about this Patriots offense, although it was fundamentally poor in Week 1. There were a few bright spots.
I mentioned the screen game. While I disagree with the volume, McDaniels' did break out some creatives screens. There was a play-action screen to Hunter Henry that I loved, but it went for 2 yards. Rhamondre Stevenson had a couple good screen opportunities as well. They just did not have explosive players on the receiving end. And Seattle is elite at tackling, so despite the creativity, it did not create much success.
I mentioned Maye's unwillingness to step up in the pocket. But it really was not a negative because of how elite he was with his legs. He's elite at throwing on the run because he is accurate and throws with touch. And he's underratedly nimble. Maye ran for 420 yards as a rookie, at 7.8 yards per attempt. In his first full year as a starter, Maye had 450 yards on 4.5 ypc in 2025. He's great at escaping the pocket, as well as finding positive rushing lanes. This alone makes Maye a positive.
Overall, it is very hard to compensate for Mike Macdonald's blitzes, or at least the sim blitzes. Especially while dealing with Byron Murphy and Leonard Williams on the interior, with Ernest Jones in the middle.
It makes it difficult for the offense to simplify the game. This makes it too easy on Seattle's talented defense. But, if you do not simplify the game, the pressure from the Seahawks is really tough to deal with. Especially when your route combinations don't match what the offensive line is dealing with up front.
It is far from over for New England. This was an overreactionary article about their struggles as a passing offense in Week 1 against one of the best defenses in the NFL. Overreactions are just fun early in the season, and a note of what to look for as the season progresses.
I just felt like breaking down what I saw on tape.
Hopefully I have time to do this each week, likely with every Thursday Night Football game.
Let me know what you thought of the opening night of the NFL season! Are the Patriots finished, or was it just the Seahawks defense? What else did you think New England did well in Week 1?
Follow my Twitter/X, @GridironGoldM_, to let me know your thoughts! Or comment below!
Stay tuned for more NFL and 49ers articles, news, and opinions!
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