The New England Patriots' start to the 2023 season ended in a downer, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 25-20.

While there were many things to be optimistic about in Sunday's game, it'll still go down as a loss for the Patriots. Here are 4.5 players that shoulder the most blame for the Week 1 result.

First quarter-plus Mac Jones

The Patriots quarterback closed the season-opener with a solid statline, but he put it well when he told reporters after the game that New England “fell behind because of me.”

As the Patriots were driving the ball on their opening drive, Jones threw a regrettable pass in Kendrick Bourne's direction, missing his receiver as Darius Slay was able to come away with the ball and ran it back for a pick-6 to give Philadelphia an early 10-0 lead. Following Ezekiel Elliott's fumble on the next possession, the Pats went three-and-out on the next three drives, in large part to Jones' inaccuracy, among other things.

Jones was able to silence the boo birds later in the second quarter, going on a stretch in which he completed 10 consecutive passes to lead the Patriots to two touchdown drives and cut the Eagles' lead to 16-14 going into halftime. But his first-half woes ultimately were a game-changer.

Ezekiel Elliott

It's only fair to include the other player who committed a turnover for the Patriots on Sunday.

In his first game in New England, Elliott had moments where he looked spry. But any honeymoon phase between him and the fans that existed ended on the first play of the Patriots' second drive when he fumbled the ball off a screen pass due to a hit from Jordan Davis.

Elliott didn't have any major bad moments after that, but the fumble allowed the Eagles to get the ball with the great field position to go up 16-0. He also didn't do too much to impress, rushing for 29 yards on seven carries with five receptions for 14 yards.

As Elliott was targeted six times in the passing game, it felt like he was being used a bit too much in that regard considering how well Rhamondre Stevenson played in that facet of the game last season. It didn't help Elliott's case that Stevenson had a big 32-yard grab in the fourth quarter to finish his day with six receptions for 64 yards, either.

Kayshon Boutte

It feels a bit harsh to include a sixth-round rookie playing in his first game on this list, especially because he had some moments on Sunday and he probably wouldn't have played if DeVante Parker was healthy.

But you've got to know that you're not in college anymore and that you need two feet inbounds to make a grab!

Kayshon Boutte wasn't able to get his second foot inbounds on the game-deciding fourth-down play in Sunday's game, appearing to not make too much of an effort to make sure both of his feet remained in play for the grab. It was actually the second time he did that on Sunday, doing the same thing on a third-down play on the Patriots' first possession of the second half to halt their moment from the first half.

Kyle Dugger

The Patriots' secondary had a big day on Sunday, slowing down Jalen Hurts and the Eagles' dynamic air attack.

However, Kyle Dugger made a major blunder in the first quarter. Following the Elliott fumble, the Patriots looked like they were going to be in a good spot to force the Eagles to settle for a field goal when Deatrich Wise Jr. recorded a four-yard sack on second-and-8. But Dugger held Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert on the opposite side of where Hurts rolled out to, giving Philadelphia an automatic first down that allowed them to score a touchdown on the next play.

Deatrich Wise

The defensive end is on here for a similar reason as Dugger.

On the second play of the game, Deatrich Wise lined up offside, wiping out an 11-yard sack of Hurts on second-and-4, giving the Eagles a first down before driving down the field to kick a field goal.

Wise made a similar mistake in the fourth quarter, committing an unnecessary holding penalty on a first-down play near midfield that gave the Eagles five free yards, helping them kick a field goal to give them a 25-14 lead.