The New England Patriots are staring down an 0-1 start after our Seattle Seahawks snatched a hard-fought 13-10 victory from them on Wednesday night. That kind of opening to the season, especially a loss to the Emerald City’s finest, definitely leaves a sour taste, and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith wasted zero time calling out Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and wide receiver Romeo Doubs for their part in it. It’s early, yeah, but Smith is already sounding the alarms for a team that just couldn’t get it done against our boys.
Doubs’ Debut Disaster Leaves Stephen A. Stunned
Romeo Doubs’ Patriots debut against our Seahawks was, simply put, a nightmare. He finished the game with zero catches on three targets, a stat line that looks rough any day, but especially when your team loses a tight one. This performance comes at the worst possible time, too, because with A.J. Brown expected to be sidelined for the next four games, the pressure is squarely on Doubs to step up as a primary receiving option. Stephen A. Smith definitely noticed, and he was not holding back. Smith went right for the jugular, saying Doubs “didn’t look equipped to be a number three, let alone a number two.”
It’s a brutal assessment, but hard to argue with after an 0-for-3 night. Now, Doubs has actually been a WR2 at other points in his career, like with the Green Bay Packers, so this isn’t uncharted territory for him. But losing to our Hawks and putting up a goose egg in his first game in New England? That’s the kind of start that puts a massive target on your back, and Smith clearly isn’t interested in giving him time to get comfortable. The expectation is there, and the execution against our defense just wasn’t.
Maye’s Early Decisions Cause Concern in Foxborough
It wasn’t just Doubs catching Smith’s ire. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye also drew criticism for “some of the decisions that he made last night” during the loss to our Seahawks. While Smith didn’t dive into specifics on Maye’s plays, those “decisions” certainly contributed to New England only putting up ten points against our hard-hitting defense. Smith summed up the early season outlook for the Patriots by saying, “It’s not a death knell, but it’s not good news.”
That “not good news” feels especially heavy when you consider it’s just the first game of the season. Losing a close contest to a tough Seattle squad is one thing, but the immediate, sharp criticism from a national voice like Stephen A. Smith points to deeper concerns about this offense’s ability to perform. With Brown out for a month, the onus shifts even more heavily onto Maye and the remaining pass-catchers like Doubs to find a rhythm. The early trend, fresh off a loss to the Seahawks, isn’t looking pretty for them.
So, what’s next for the Patriots? They’ve got to figure out how to generate some offense, fast. With Brown out for four weeks, Maye and Doubs need to get on the same page and find a way to produce, especially after their tough start against our Hawks. For us 12s, that 13-10 victory was a perfect way to kick off the regular season, and watching the post-game fallout from our opponents just makes it that much sweeter. Go Hawks!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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