In many ways, playing in the Super Bowl gives you a similar target on your back as winning it does. Consider the stakes multiplied if you did it as a first-year head coach with an MVP runner-up quarterback. With the sixth-hardest schedule this season, the New England Patriots are at the bullseye of many of their opponents. And just when head coach Mike Vrabel thought he could run it back and get his team back to its Super Bowl-winning ways, his most reliable piece came undone in the season opener against a team he had played just seven months ago in Super Bowl LX.

Drake Maye, coming off a great second year, stumbled hard against the Seattle Seahawks’ Dark Side defense and, in the end, lost the very quality that made him stand out from many: his patience. And as far as Vrabel is concerned, this cannot continue.

“We want to be aggressive, not reckless,” Vrabel told reporters, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “You can’t throw three interceptions. Drake knows that.”

Entering the Super Bowl LX rematch against the Seahawks, Maye wanted to come with a clean slate and not with the purpose of redemption. But even when things went haywire for the opponents for most of the forty minutes, Maye returned empty-handed, not his entire team, after throwing three interceptions in the final eleven minutes of the regulation, including a reckless one.

With 26 seconds left in the night, New England faced 3rd-and-5 from Seattle’s 16-yard line and a chance to at least force overtime. Maye got flushed to his right and forced a pass toward wide receiver Mack Hollins in the end zone. Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe read it, undercut the route, and to Maye’s disbelief, he first put his right foot inside the lines and then his left. Had Maye instead thrown the ball away, kicker Andy Borregales would have had a look at a 34-yard field goal to tie the game. The other two were no different, but the QB simply didn’t learn from his mistakes.

The first interception came with the Pats leading 10-3 early in the fourth quarter. But as Maye attempted a deep pass to Romeo Doubs, Seahawks’ Rodney Thomas II deflected it, and his teammate Nehemiah Pritchett intercepted it to end the visitors’ drive. What’s worse was that the Seahawks scored on their next offensive drive to tie the game. The series of unlucky events only continued for Maye.

In the very next drive, on a 3rd-&-14, Maye threw long towards wide receiver DeMario Douglas, but the ball was intercepted by safety Julian Love. Seattle scored a field goal in their next drive to capture their first lead of the night at 13-10.

With only 20 seconds remaining, the Seahawks knew they had the win in their pockets and took a knee on the very first play of their next drive. The worst part was that the Seahawks continuously fell victim to penalties, lost Sam Darnold in the very opening drive, and had to rely on their backup QB Drew Lock for the entirety of the game. But at least the quarterback stood up to hold himself accountable.

Drake Maye describes his fourth-quarter performance with one word

Ahead of the Wednesday night opener against the Seattle Seahawks, a high-energy Drake Maye stood in front of the reporters and told them that while this game was high-stakes, it was not for revenge. Hours after losing 10-13 to a backup QB-led team, the worst thing he could do was face those very reporters and acknowledge his blunders.

“I thought we had the game under control,” Maye said after the game. “We had a good plan to start chipping away and be patient, and lost patience and costed us, I think just, decisions that cost us the game, on my part, on my end. And I’ve asked myself to be better and realize it’s a long season, but at the same time, you can’t have those. It’s unacceptable.”

Last season, the MVP runner-up had only one game with multiple interceptions: the Super Bowl LX. This year, he is beginning with a career-high three against the same defense. He finished the night 23-of-33 for 178 yards and a touchdown through the air, adding 47 yards on the ground, respectable volume undercut entirely by the turnovers. To make matters worse, they have three more playoff teams awaiting them next: the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Buffalo Bills. If that wasn’t it, Maye also lost one of his newest targets.

During the third quarter, New England’s offseason addition, star WR A.J. Brown, left the field with an ankle injury. Now, the 0-1 Pats have 11 days to regroup before hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2 on September 20.