New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and quarterback Drake Maye are treating pre-halftime clock management as a Week 3 priority after uneven execution in the first two games, with Sunday’s road test against the Jacksonville Jaguars looming at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
The Patriots sit 1-1 after a 20-3 home win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and a season-opening 10-13 loss at Seattle. Next come back-to-back road games against 2025 AFC playoff clubs — Jacksonville (1-1) and Buffalo (2-0) — where late first-half points and possession could decide tight contests.
Steelers finish exposed Foxborough’s soft spot
Last Sunday at Gillette Stadium, Maye and the offense took over at their own 20 with 1:48 left in the half, a 10-0 lead, and all three timeouts. The drive stalled immediately when Maye was sacked on a three-man rush. New England punted; Pittsburgh started at its 35 with 40 seconds remaining.
Vrabel later acknowledged a costly mistake: after Marcus Jones was injured and the Patriots were charged a timeout under the two-minute rules, he called another timeout with 12 seconds left and was flagged for delay of game, gifting Pittsburgh five yards. The Steelers converted a 56-yard field goal as time expired.
“I blew it,” Vrabel said, explaining he had been arguing with officials about a boundary ruling instead of managing the clock. Maye likewise owned the first-down sack, saying the priority under two minutes is to get the ball forward — even an incomplete pass — rather than lose yardage and hand the opponent three points.
Seattle opener offered a similar lesson
In Week 1 at Seattle, New England stopped the Seahawks on third-and-6 from Seattle’s 22 with 12 seconds left and a timeout remaining. Vrabel let the clock expire instead of forcing a punt that might have created a return chance for Marcus Jones or a blocked kick.
He later told WEEI that rushing 11 was probably something the Patriots could have done, noting punter Michael Dickson’s skill and limited return opportunities that night. The combined early-season sample has put late-half decision-making back on the practice script.
Maye wants to “double up” before the break
Maye said Wednesday after the first practice for Jacksonville that ending the half with points — or at least with the football when New England receives the second-half kickoff — was one of the team’s best traits in 2025. Last season’s surge included a Week 5 road win at Buffalo in which the offense drove from its 30 with 2:22 left to a field goal as the half ended, and a drive against Tampa Bay that started at the 22 with 7:10 remaining and finished as a touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs with two seconds left.
“Play good football and try to double up, as they call it,” Maye said. Jacksonville has scored 43 points through two games; Buffalo has scored 77. Against defenses that can flip short fields into scores, finishing the half cleanly is no longer a luxury item on the call sheet.
Injury cloud around secondary and edge for Week 3
Foxborough’s injury report ahead of Jacksonville already reshaped the depth chart. Safety Dell Pettus was placed on injured reserve; linebacker Jose Ramirez was elevated from the practice squad and Benton Whitley signed to the practice squad. Wednesday’s non-participants included linebackers Dre’Mont Jones (shoulder) and Quintayvious Hutchins (knee) plus safety Craig Woodson (shoulder). Cornerback Carlton Davis III returned as a full participant after a neck issue.
Those absences make efficient possession drives even more valuable: fewer stoppages and cleaner clock work keep a depleted defense off the field. For a 1-1 Patriots team chasing last year’s late-half edge, Jacksonville is the first live exam of whether the fix sticks.
Why Jacksonville raises the stakes
Jacksonville’s early scoring pace and Buffalo’s offensive output next week mean New England cannot treat late first-half possessions as throwaways. The Patriots’ 2025 identity included finishing halves with points or the ball; reclaiming that edge is as much about coaching discipline as quarterback decision-making.
Vrabel’s public admission that he “blew it” on the Steelers timeout, paired with Maye’s self-critique of the sack, suggests the staff is not papering over the issue. If Sunday’s game in Jacksonville stays within one score into the final minutes of the half, Foxborough’s response will be the first real measure of whether the midweek emphasis stuck.
