After a down week from Jacksonville and a 20-3 win by the Patriots that seems to have righted the ship in New England, the Jaguars (1-1) and Patriots (1-1) face off at EverBank Stadium at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Jacksonville is coming off its first regular-season loss since Nov. 9, 2025 after allowing Bo Nix and the Broncos to mount a late-game comeback in Denver. Conversely, New England avenged an ugly 13-10 Week 1 loss to Seattle with a dominant win over the Steelers.
As the Jaguars prepare for their second home contest of the season, all eyes will be on quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Drake Maye.
In Week 2, Lawrence tallied 189 yards and an interception, a large reduction from his 245-yard, four-touchdown performance against Cleveland in the season opener. Maye, on the other hand, tossed three interceptions and threw for just 178 yards in Week 1, but improved his line to 208 yards and only one interception against the Steelers.
“He’s been able to extend plays and hurt people in big games getting out of the pocket,” defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile said of Maye. “That’s definitely a challenge this week for us.”
With the Patriots riding the momentum of a 17-point win, it will be imperative for Jacksonville to strike early and hold offensive momentum throughout. That involves establishing a run game early and providing Lawrence with opportunities to take down-field shots.
“I’m confident that we’re gonna respond, and that we’re gonna be ready to go against New England,” Lawrence said. “That’s what good teams do: you bounce back and play better than you did the week before.”
Getting Lawrence going starts in the trenches. Jacksonville’s offensive line will need to smooth out protection schemes in order to give the quarterback enough time to read through his progressions and make decisive tight-window throws.
In addition to establishing a passing game, the Jaguars will look to be effective on the ground against a strong Patriots defense that has allowed fewer than 100 rushing yards in each of its first two games. Jacksonville running back Bhayshul Tuten has amassed at least 65 yards in each game thus far and will continue to handle a majority of the Jaguars’ carries in Week 3.
“It’s a good run defense, so we’ve got to find ways to still be effective and run the ball,” Lawrence said. “Who knows, maybe it won’t be for 250 [yards], but we’ve still got to be able to run it, and I’ve got faith that our plan and our guys can get it done.”
If Jacksonville can force New England to focus on limiting Tuten, Lawrence may be able to work more efficiently and find receivers Parker Washington, Brian Thomas Jr. and Jakobi Meyers for chunk-yardage gains. Washington, who has caught 12 of 18 targets for 181 yards through two weeks, will likely match up against standout New England defensive back Christian Gonzalez, and his success rate there will play a large role in whether the Jaguars will be able to extend drives and find explosive connections.
“Super talented. He gets open, creates separation, he’s a really good route runner, great ball skills, can make contested catches,” Lawrence said of Washington. “I trust him. Our chemistry has grown more and more over the past year.”
But after a lackluster defensive performance against the Broncos, the Jaguars have their work cut out for them in limiting Maye and a deep backfield consisting of Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson.
Though Jacksonville surrendered 272 total yards against the Browns in Week 1, it allowed the Broncos to amass 392 — 288 of which came through the air. The Jaguars’ lacked pressure from their defensive front in the second half, allowing Nix to pick apart a struggling secondary.
“I think everybody’s got a level of pissed off in here, which is a good thing,” Campanile said. “There’s only one way to fix anything. It’s get back to work … you can have a little anger about the result, but the reality is you’ve got to move on and focus on what can get you better.”
To stay competitive at EverBank, the Jaguars will need to keep consistent pressure on Maye and continue to thwart opposing rushing schemes. Aside from a handful of explosive runs — a trio of Denver running backs rushed for longs of 16, 15 and 12 yards — Jacksonville has limited opponents’ production on the ground, but its Achilles heel remains: allowing explosive downfield passes.
The Jaguars allowed a 43-yard touchdown pass to Denzel Boston in Week 1 and saw Broncos receiver Jaylen Waddle nab a 49-yard reception in Week 2. With New England coming off a win in which Maye tossed longs of 63, 30 and 29 yards to Romeo Doubs, Eli Raridon and Hunter Henry, respectively, Jacksonville’s secondary must clean up its coverage to protect against explosive deep threats on Sunday.
“I feel like all of us want to respond,” Travis Hunter said. “We’ve just got to continue to get better and lock in more.”
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Curan is a senior sports journalism student in his sixth semester at The Alligator. He is currently a sports editor and football beat reporter for the Gators and the Jaguars. He previously served as a men's tennis and sports enterprise reporter, and he is pursuing a public relations minor.
