What they’re saying nationally about Patriots’ turnover-riddled Week 3 loss

The Patriots are 1-2 after a Week 3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers that saw New England turn the ball over five times.

Drake Maye’s performance was a mixed bag, but coach Mike Vrabel thought there was still “a lot of good” that came from the second-year quarterback.

Still, a lot of work needs to be done between now and Week 4 if the Patriots want to right the wrongs between turnovers, fumbles, defense and offense.

Here’s a roundup of what those around the NFL are saying after the 21-14 loss.

Bill Barnwell, ESPN

“The Patriots aren’t good enough to be sloppy and win, though, and they were sloppy on both sides of the ball. In addition to the turnovers, the Pats had a 17-yard completion wiped off the board by an illegal man downfield penalty. Holding and unnecessary roughness calls extended and aided a Steelers touchdown drive. And per NFL Next Gen Stats, the Patriots whiffed on 23.3% of their tackle attempts, which The Athletic’s Nate Tice notes is the second-highest rate by any team in any game since 2016.”

Mark Daniels, MassLive

“There’s an obvious reason why (TreVeyon) Henderson hasn’t been the Patriots’ lead back. It has little to do with his ability as a running back or pass catcher. It has to do with his struggles in blitz pickup.

“In the Patriots Week 2 win over the Dolphins, Henderson was responsible for two of the three sacks allowed on Drake Maye. On Sunday, it appeared as though the rookie allowed another hit on the Patriots quarterback. That’s probably why, after Stevenson fumbled for a second time, the Patriots turned to Gibson to be their lead back.”

Mike Reiss, ESPN

Overall, the Patriots had five turnovers in the loss to the Steelers, two of which came inside the Steelers’ 5-yard line. According to ESPN Research, this is the first time since 1978 that the Patriots had multiple turnovers inside their opponent’s 5-yard line in a game. This also marked the first time the Patriots turned the ball over five times in a game since Nov. 30, 2008, also against the Steelers.

Steve Buckley, The Athletic

“There’s an urge here to come up with some parody book titles that play off Stevenson’s troubles holding on to the ball. That’s too easy. But this is worth noting: For now, Stevenson’s writing project is a part-time pursuit. And to hear Vrabel speak, it sounds like he wants to keep Stevenson around. He needs him.

“But to repeat what Vrabel said of Stevenson, “He helped us win a football game last week. It’s a different story today.”

“Translation: If Stevenson doesn’t stop fumbling the ball, writing might wind up being a full-time job.”

Tara Sullivan, The Boston Globe

“Maye was calm and poised even after falling behind early, 14-0. He was smart with his legs, using both scheduled and off-schedule run plays to earn first downs or valuable yardage, wisely sliding when needed or getting to the sidelines if he could. He made one heave out the back of the end zone in the face of pressure that showed he can indeed, if not always, sometimes make the right decision in that circumstance. He spread the ball around, connecting with nine receivers.”

Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald

“Among those good things: holding Aaron Rodgers to 139 passing yards, one of the lowest-single game totals of his career; two touchdown passes from Drake Maye, who also scrambled for four first downs; four conversions on five fourth-down attempts, a reflection of aggressive in-game management and sharp play-calling.

“But think about those last numbers for a minute.

“In order to simply survive Sunday, Maye had to go beyond regular quarterback duties, past completing passes and orchestrating the offense. He had to create outside the pocket and outside of structure just so the Patriots could keep marching in spite of Rhamondre Stevenson’s butterfingers. And as they marched, they still walked into another do-or-die situation with the game on the line.”