Drake Maye seemed to agree with Jerod Mayo's blunt assessment of the New England Patriots following their 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

The Patriots quarterback told reporters that the Patriots aren't a “tough” team after he was asked for his thoughts on Mayo calling the group “soft.”

“Coach Mayo’s not going to come in here and say something he didn’t say in the locker room,” Maye said. “We’re not tough. He always preaches being tough. He preached it today. Being tough is running the football, stopping the run, and covering kicks. I think he does a great job of relaying that message to us. And I think the guys know.”

New England didn't play well in the run game on either side of the ball in Sunday's game, which might be the easiest sign to see if a team is tough or not. The Patriots rushed for just 38 yards on 15 carries (2.5 yards per carry) while the Jaguars ran for 171 yards. Jacksonville even had a stretch where it ran the ball on 19 straight plays because New England couldn't stop it.

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The issues in the run game seemed to be the main reason why Mayo called his team “soft” after Sunday's game.

“They controlled the ball for most of the day,” Mayo said. “Their run game averaged over 4.5 yards per carry. Our run game, I'm not sure what the average was, but it wasn't good. Look, back to the drawing board. We can't sit here and pout. We've just got to put a game together.”

What Patriots QB Drake Maye said of second career start

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) throws the ball against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second half of an NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Patriots really didn't do a good job of stopping the Jaguars in the passing game, either. Trevor Lawrence completed 15-of-20 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown, seemingly picking the Patriots' secondary apart all day long.

However, the Patriots finally had quarterback play that could toe-to-toe with their opponent. Maye completed 26-of-37 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns with a 109.7 passer rating. Just as important, Maye didn't commit a turnover, though he had a couple of passes that were nearly intercepted by Jaguars defenders.

Still, Maye showed continued promise in his second career start after a three-touchdown game in his first. He acknowledged that he feels a bit more comfortable operating the Patriots' offense with the more reps he's gotten, but wants to leave these games with a different result.

“More and more you’re out there you’re seeing different things, different fronts, different coverages and getting a better feel,” Maye said. “I’m here to help this football team win, and we’re not getting that done, so got to do something different.”

Maye's best drive was arguably the game's opening moments. He led the Patriots on an 11-play, 68-yard drive that ended with him tossing a pass to JaMychal Hasty for a 16-yard score. The Patriots added three points on their next drive, but they didn't score again until the fourth quarter. He also threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to KJ Osborn later in the game.

The Patriots rookie quarterback liked the start New England got off to, saying the team's been “preaching” them. Now, they've got to find a way to sustain it.

“I had some chances down in the red zone on that second drive that I wish I had back, but other than that I think what Coach Mayo’s preaching is we’ve got to be able to run the football,” Maye said. “And when we do throw it on first and second down, I’ve got to find some completions.”

At the very least, Maye showed some positives in Sunday's game to work with moving forward. The quarterback wants to keep improving his individual performance on and off the field, too.

“Little things like false starts, that falls on me,” Maye said when asked what he wants to improve on. “We’ve got to be more clear and up front with the cadence for the O-line. But other than that, I took care of the football, maybe one or two times endangered it. Other than that I feel like I’m seeing it well, making a few different throws. Other than that I think I can do a better job on the sideline sometimes pumping guys up or relaying messages on the sideline.

“I thought we had some bright spots today but not good enough.”

Maye will get another chance to get his first career win when the Patriots host the New York Jets in Week 8.