Rookie quarterback Drake Maye's first NFL start wasn't enough to spark the New England Patriots in Week 6, losing to the Houston Texans, 41-21. As the Patriots fell to 1-5 on the season, here are the players and coaches most to blame for their latest shortcoming, starting with defensive backs Christian Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones.

Christian Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones

Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce (31) reaches across the goal line and scores a touchdown against New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez (0) during the second half at Gillette Stadium.
Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Even though C.J. Stroud threw for just 192 yards, it was really a rough day for the Patriots' secondary. Christian Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones each had rough moments in Sunday's game.

Gonzalez had the duty of trying to slow down Stefon Diggs. He wasn't able to do that, though. Diggs had four receptions on five targets against Gonzalez for 39 yards and a touchdown, per Pro Football Focus. Those stats might not be eye-popping, but he only ran 10 routes against Gonzalez, per Next Gen Stats.

Gonzalez even admitted that he had a tough day against Diggs.

“I feel like I didn't play too well,” Gonzalez told reporters following Sunday's game.

The touchdown that Gonzalez allowed to Diggs at the beginning of the third quarter was particularly brutal. Diggs got him on an inside move, quickly leaving the young corner in the dust.

Following that touchdown, the Patriots played more zone defense, but it was too late as they were in a 21-7 hole.

As for the Joneses, Jonathan Jones allowed five receptions on five targets while covering Diggs and Tank Dell, per PFF. One of the receptions he gave up to Dell was a two-yard touchdown to open the game, running a couple steps behind the Texans' receiver.

Marcus Jones was only credited for allowing two receptions on Sunday,

Raekwon McMillan

Following Ja'Whaun Bentley's season-ending injury, the Patriots have gone from having arguably one of the best run-stopping linebackers in the league to one of the worst.

Houston's run game punished New England on Sunday, going for 192 yards on the ground. It was really two plays that did the Patriots in, though. Joe Mixon rushed for a 59-yard gain on a run early in the second quarter where Raekwon McMillan took a bad angle, which allowed the running back to hit the hole cleanly before taking off the long gain.

In the fourth quarter, McMillan was one of the culprits for allowing Dameon Pierce's 54-yard touchdown run. He overpursued on an outside run, allowing Pierce to cut inside and outrun the Patriots' defense to the end zone.

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Those two plays show a lack of discipline from McMillan that led to major plays for the Texans. But he was also unproductive in Sunday's game. He only recorded one tackle assist in 18 defensive run snaps in Sunday's game. Just a brutal showing for a linebacker.

Demontrey Jacobs

It was another rough outing for the Patriots' offensive line, though not everyone was bad. However, Demontrey Jacobs was clearly overmatched at right tackle in Sunday's game. He allowed two sacks and four pressures, per PFF.

The biggest mistake from Jacobs was the whiff of a block he had on Texans standout edge rusher Danielle Hunter on the Patriots' first drive of the second half. As New England got the ball to open the third quarter and Gillette Stadium humming from Maye's first touchdown pass, the energy was sapped out of the building as Anderson clearly made his way around Jacobs to get a strip-sack of Maye.

Jacobs also allowed Will Anderson Jr. to get a quick sack of Maye on a third-down play early in the second quarter, ending a Patriots drive.

Just a rough day at the office for the right tackle.

Alex Van Pelt

New England Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt works on the sideline during the first half against the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium.
Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt's approach to calling Sunday's game was maddening. After the Patriots went down 7-0 on the game's opening drive, their OC opted to dial up two run plays for their backup running back before having Maye drop back to pass on a play where the rookie didn't have a chance for a completion.

That timid approach continued on the next drive, with Maye throwing a short pass before getting intercepted. There were a couple of other situations in the first half where Van Pelt's play calls were uninspiring, such as a second-and-seven where Antonio Gibson ran right up the gut for a one-yard loss.

It initially looked like Van Pelt was waiving the white flag on the Patriots' final drive of the first half. Even though the team had multiple timeouts and roughly a minute left after getting the ball at their own 16-yard line, Van Pelt called a run play as the offense wasn't urgent to get back to the line. Luckily for Van Pelt, Maye bailed him out with a couple of strong completions before hitting Kayshon Boutte on a 40-yard touchdown pass.

The biggest crime with this Patirots' offense, though, is that it remains boring for several stretches of the game, even with Maye in there. They rank toward the bottom of the league in motion, giving their skill position players zero advantage before the snap. That would be understandable if you were loaded at receiver and had trust in your skill position players to win one-on-one battles. But this team needs whatever edges it can get, and Van Pelt isn't providing the offense with any sort of advantage on a weekly basis.