JACKSONVILLE, Florida — The New England Patriots left EverBank Stadium with a crushing 35–6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but one of the most talked-about moments of the game came long before Jacksonville completely took control.
The Jaguars entered halftime with a 14–3 lead, before scoring two touchdowns within just 18 seconds in the third quarter and turning the game into a blowout victory.
However, while the margin was still very small in the second quarter, the Patriots had an opportunity to completely change the momentum of the game.
Quarterback Drake Maye drove New England deep toward Jacksonville’s end zone before escaping the pocket himself and running approximately 21 yards into the end zone.
For a few seconds, the Patriots thought they had scored a touchdown to tie the game at 7–7.
But the yellow flag came out.
Right tackle Morgan Moses was called for holding, wiping Maye’s touchdown off the scoreboard and forcing the Patriots backward.
That was not the end of New England’s disastrous sequence.
On the very next play, wide receiver Romeo Doubs was called for offensive pass interference. Two consecutive penalties pushed the Patriots into an extremely difficult 1st-and-30 situation.
Instead of seven points and a tied game, New England ultimately could only finish the drive with a 35-yard field goal, cutting the score to 7–3.
Jacksonville immediately took advantage of the Patriots’ inability to turn that opportunity into a touchdown. Trevor Lawrence then connected with Jakobi Meyers to help the Jaguars extend their lead to 14–3 before halftime. Jacksonville then completely controlled the second half to close out the 35–6 victory.
Immediately after the game, Patriots legend Rob Gronkowski focused specifically on this sequence of two consecutive penalties.
“I played this sport for more than a decade – mistakes are unavoidable, that’s part of football. But what we witnessed tonight wasn’t human error. It was a sequence of biased decisions that tilted the balance of the game. That’s not the NFL I believe in.”
What is worth noting is that even while debating how harsh the officiating decisions were, the Patriots cannot place the entire loss on the flags.
New England made too many mistakes throughout the rest of the game. Maye had an especially difficult day, losing a fumble and throwing an interception, in a game in which the Patriots quarterback later admitted the offense had played at an “unacceptable” level.
The Patriots also put themselves in difficult situations through penalties, turnovers, and their inability to sustain drives long enough to put pressure on Jacksonville.
But what made the overturned touchdown especially notable was the timing.
If Maye’s touchdown had stood, New England could have tied the game at 7–7 before moving deeper into the second quarter. Instead, the Patriots came away with only three points, and Jacksonville quickly responded to extend the score to 14–3.
That was the difference between a game that was still tied and a game that began tilting heavily toward the Jaguars.
In his remarks, Gronkowski continued to emphasize that he did not believe one officiating decision could explain the Patriots’ 29-point loss.
“No one can look at a 35–6 score and say one flag caused the Patriots to lose the game. New England has to take responsibility for the turnovers, the penalties, and the opportunities they missed. But that doesn’t mean we ignore important decisions. If a touchdown is taken off the board, the fans deserve to understand exactly why.”
Jacksonville ultimately proved to be the better team for most of the game.
Lawrence threw three touchdowns, while the Jaguars’ defense consistently applied pressure and capitalized on New England’s mistakes. The Jaguars improved their record to 2–1, while the Patriots were left facing a series of questions about their offense after the first three weeks of the season.
For the Patriots, the 35–6 loss certainly cannot be explained by one overturned touchdown alone.
But the sequence of penalties involving Morgan Moses and Romeo Doubs still represents one of the biggest opportunities New England lost while the game remained within reach.
In an NFL game, momentum can sometimes change in just a few seconds.
The Patriots thought Drake Maye had just run into the end zone to make it 7–7. Two flags later, they were facing 1st-and-30 and ultimately came away with only three points.
Jacksonville did not give them another opportunity to correct the mistake.
The final score was 35–6, and the Jaguars deserved the victory based on the way the entire game unfolded. But for New England, Maye’s overturned touchdown will still be one of those moments that leaves fans wondering just how differently the game might have unfolded if the Patriots had walked away from that drive with seven points instead of three.
