The New England Patriots are the far less talented team, though they didn’t help themselves with four turnovers in Sunday’s 41-21 loss to the Houston Texans.
Drake Maye accounted for three of those with a pair of interceptions and a strip-sack at the hands of talented Houston pass-rusher Danielle Hunter. The Texans scored 17 points off turnovers. That’s not to suggest that was the only difference in a lob-sided affair, but the Patriots have adjustments to make to secure the ball.
“Yeah, I think we just hurt ourselves today,” Maye told reporters, per a team-provided transcript. “I think we put the defense in bad spots, and with how good our defense is, that’s the last thing we can do. We can’t — when the ball is in the red zone, giving the other team the ball in the red zone just makes it hard on them. It starts with me, and I wish I could have some throws back, and especially the first interceptions.”
The Patriots entered the game with a plus-two turnover margin for the season, good for 10th in the NFL. That will take a hit after a minus-three margin on Sunday, marking an ongoing priority moving forward.
“Just kept hurting ourselves, and in this league, these teams are too good to do that,” Maye added.
Maye look to improve ball security in Week 7 as the Patriots head international to battle the also-struggling Jacksonville Jaguars in London.