The New England Patriots were on the losing side again on Sunday, losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 32-16, in Week 7. As is the case with many 1-6 squads, there were certainly people to blame for New England's latest shortcoming. So, let's do that. Here are the people and units most to blame for the Patriots' loss in London.

Ja'Lynn Polk

The brutal season for the rookie wide receiver continued on Sunday. Not only did Polk finish Sunday's game without a reception on three targets, but he also had multiple drops. Following the loss to the Jaguars, he now has five drops in his last two games. Yikes!

Now, both drops might not technically be counted as drops as whoever determines that stat is pretty stringent. In fairness to Polk, his first drop was also a pretty tough play, having to fight through a good contest. It also didn't hurt the Patriots as they went on to score a touchdown on that drive.

However, Polk's second drop came before the Patriots allowed a punt return for a touchdown. He later slipped and fell on the Patriots' two-point conversion to try and shink the Jaguars' lead to seven in the fourth quarter. That mistake didn't mean much in the end, though.

While Polk's drops and poor execution might not have directly contributed to the Patriots' loss, it might have impacted his playing time and the number of targets he received. It's also important for Drake Maye to try and establish a connection with Polk, whose only recorded one reception on a pass from his fellow rookie through the quarterback's first two starts.

It doesn't seem that Polk is handling the situation all too well, either. After a bizarre back-and-forth with Jerod Mayo earlier this week, Polk didn't seem to take the criticism from the head coach too well. Either that or he was just having fun on social media, which might be more troubling after a loss.

Regardless, things aren't going well with Polk right now and something needs to change.

The Patriots' defensive front

Honestly, pick a name out of a hat from the Patriots' front seven and you can say they played badly on Sunday. They didn't record a sack. They only had four pressures, per Pro Football Focus.

But the most embarrassing stat is that the Jaguars ran a designed run on 17 straight plays in the second half – and they had success doing so. Jacksonville rushed for 171 yards on 4.4 yards per carry, seemingly dictating play.

There's just no way you're going remain competitive, let alone win games, if you can't stop the run or get pressure on the quarterback. It's a failure of everyone involved.

Christian Gonzalez

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The Patriots cornerback probably had the worst game of his young career on Sunday. Christian Gonzalez gave up a pair of receptions to Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr., including a 58-yard grab where he let the rookie get behind him. In total, Gonzalez was only targeted twice, per PFF, but the 58-yard grab helped Jacksonville set up for its first touchdown of the game.

Alex Van Pelt

The start of Sunday's game was actually good for Van Pelt. The Patriots scored on their first two drives, with Maye dropping back to pass on 14 of their first 23 plays.

Then, all of a sudden, the Patriots opted to focus on the ground game. They had called a run on first down in each of their next four possession, with none of them going for more than three yards. With the Patriots working from non-advantageous spots on second and third down during those drives, they were quickly off the field and punted each time.

They finally went back to passing on the first play when they went down, 25-10. That resulted in a touchdown drive. At some point, you have to trust Maye to make plays, especially if he's going to be the best player on your time. That starts with Van Pelt putting him in good situations, which he's failed to do the last two weeks.

Jerod Mayo

Jerod Mayo's assessment that his team was soft wasn't necessarily wrong. When you get beaten as bad as you did in the run game, that's the tell tale sign of a soft team.

But the toughness of a team starts with the head coach. Mayo took blame for that, but you shouldn't be having concerns over the toughness of your team in the middle of October. This team didn't seem ready to go again on Sunday, which falls on the head coach.

Additionally, the good and even mediocre teams have typically figured out their identity by this point in the season. The Patriots have the number of injuries that they've had hasn't helped things, but it's hard to figure out what this team does well. Mayo has to find the answer to that problem soon or else it's somehow going to become even more bleak in Foxborough.