The Jacksonville Jaguars will face several playoff contenders in 2026. The Super Bowl runner-up New England Patriots will be among the teams in their slate. The game will be no walk in the park, but the Pats are coming off a humiliating loss against the Seattle Seahawks that exposed their offense. On top of that, they could be without star receiver A.J. Brown
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the Pats have placed Brown on Injured Reserve. This guarantees that he'll miss at least four games, including the Week 3 matchup against Jacksonville.
Brown suffered an ankle sprain in the loss to the Seahawks. Although it's not as serious as originally thought, he'll still have to miss time.
The Jaguars won't have to worry about A.J. Brown in Week 3
Back in the offseason, the Patriots sent a first-round selection to the Philadelphia Eagles in return for A.J. Brown. The expectation was that he was going to give MVP runner-up Drake Maye a true WR1, but he'll have to wait to make an impact in New England.
Without Brown, Maye struggled against Seattle, throwing three interceptions. And things won't get easier when he faces the Jaguars. New England traded Kayshon Boutte to the Houston Texans before the regular season. The decision is already coming back to haunt them.
The Patriots drafted Boutte in 2023, and he was on his way toward becoming their WR2. However, he was entering a contract year, and extending him wasn't part of his team's plans. Heck, Mike Vrabel infamously said that he would have been inactive several times if he had stayed in Foxborough. Fast forward to Week 2, and New England would surely love to have him around.
One reason the Patriots traded Boutte was that they signed Romeo Doubs in free agency. However, he had a puzzling drop in the season opener. Unless he puts his struggles behind him, Maye won't have many weapons for the Week 3 matchup against Jacksonville.
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The Jaguars defense will have a great matchup vs. Drake Maye and the Patriots
Aside from Kayshon Boutte, New England has DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams, and Mack Collins at receiver. Hunter Henry is TE1, but he's no longer the player he was early in his career. With this in mind, it's fair to say that the Jaguars' secondary will have a favorable matchup in Week 3.
Montaric Brown and Travis Hunter will be the starting cornerbacks in the boundaries. Jourdan Lewis will man the slot, but Jarrian Jones could also get ample playing time either inside or outside. Either way, Jacksonville has four pretty good corners, and all of them should hold their own against New England. When you factor in that Antonio Johnson is one of the best safeties in the NFL, Drake Maye could struggle against the Jags.
Now, the Jaguars aren't guaranteed to beat the New England Patriots in Week 3 just because they won't face A.J. Brown, but their odds just increased substantially.
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