Drake Maye crumbles in Patriots' 45-27 loss to Packers

Doug Kyed, Boston Herald on Nov 8, 2026

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots got smacked by the Green Bay Packers and reality in a 45-27 loss Sunday.

Safety Kevin Byard and quarterback Drake Maye called the Week 9 matchup against the Packers a “measuring stick game.” The Patriots didn’t measure up to a team with an explosive offense and a disruptive defense. They’ll need considerable work if they hope to go back on a long playoff run this winter.

The Patriots’ secondary gave up seven explosive plays to QB Jordan Love and the Packers’ offense in a career-worst performance from cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

And Maye and the Patriots’ offense didn’t give themselves a chance early with three interceptions in the first half and a lost fumble from running back Rhamondre Stevenson in the second half.

This was a beatdown and objectively the worst Patriots loss of the Mike Vrabel era — yes, even worse than a 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3. And it all played out as team legend Tom Brady called the contest for FOX Sports.

The game couldn’t have started worse for the Patriots. They were flagged for an illegal shift on first down, but the Packers declined the penalty since Stevenson ran for just 1 yard. Maye was picked off on second down, when he threw directly at Packers safety Xavier McKinney.

It took just two plays for the Packers to get on the board on a 13-yard scramble touchdown run from Love.

The Patriots’ second offensive series didn’t go much better. They lost 6 yards on three plays and were forced to punt back to the Packers.

The Packers took a 14-0 lead when Love hit Matthew Golden for a 5-yard touchdown. Gonzalez and Marcus Jones both followed Christian Watson on the play, leaving Golden wide open.

The Patriots were forced to punt again. Mitch Wishnowsky’s punt pinned the Packers back at their own 2-yard line. The Packers were able to cap off a 12-play, 70-yard drive with a 41-yard field goal from Trey Smack to increase their lead to 17-0.

It took just two plays for the Packers to regain possession. Maye threw his second interception of the game on a deep pass to Kyle Williams. It was deflected by cornerback Brandon Cisse and picked off by safety Evan Williams.

The Patriots forced the Packers to punt with help from an 8-yard sack by defensive tackle Christian Barmore.

Maye got the Patriots on the board with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Stevenson to make the score 17-7. Three plays earlier, Maye hit DeMario Douglas for a 36-yard gain.

The Patriots had a chance to cut the Packers’ lead to two scores when Maye was picked off a third time. McKinney hauled in his second interception of the game on a target to rookie tight end Eli Raridon.

The Packers only needed three plays to extend their lead to 24-14 on a short touchdown run from Kaleb Johnson. They got into the red zone with explosive passing plays from Love to Golden and Watson.

The Patriots kept it a two-score game with their own quick touchdown drive. The four-play, 64-yard drive culminated with an 8-yard passing touchdown from Maye to Efton Chism. Raridon and Stevenson both had big plays to help move the Patriots down the field.

Gonzalez, who had a rough first half, forced a turnover on downs with a pass breakup on fourth down to give the Patriots the ball at their own 43-yard line. They picked up just one first down and were forced to punt the ball back to the Packers, who gained possession at their own 15-yard line. Love was sacked by OLB Elijah Ponder on second down, and the Packers let the clock run out.

The Packers extended their lead again to 31-14 on their first drive of the second half. Love finished off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Savion Williams over rookie cornerback Karon Prunty, who was filling in for injured starter Carlton Davis III. Regular backup Charles Woods was inactive with a hamstring injury that was announced just prior to the game.

The Patriots punted down 17 points on fourth-and-3 from their own 38-yard line. The Packers made it a 20-point lead on a 51-yard field goal from Smack.

The Packers weren’t done scoring. Love hit Watson for a 39-yard touchdown completion over Gonzalez midway through the third quarter.

The Patriots followed that up with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Maye to wide receiver Mack Hollins to cut the Packers’ lead to 42-21. The Packers extended it again to 45-21 on a 38-yard field goal from Smack.

Patriots running back Corey Kiner, filling in for an injured Stevenson, scored the first touchdown of his NFL career in garbage time when Tommy DeVito had replaced Maye.

____