The New England Patriots had a rocky start to the football season this month. On September 7th, the Patriots opened at Gillette Stadium with a hard loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. The game started out close, with both teams scoring touchdowns in the first quarter. With a short pass, quarterback Drake Maye sent a touchdown home to DeMario Douglas to tie the game at 7-7. The second quarter was uneventful, with the only score being a 35-yard field goal from rookie kicker Andy Borregales to put the Patriots in a temporary lead. This lead started to run away from them, however, as the Raiders put in a field goal and a touchdown in the third quarter. The Patriots never recovered in the final quarter, with only a 44-yard field goal from Borregales. The Patriots lost this game 20-13. When asked about the game, head coach Mike Vrable said that the team “needed to be more balanced” and avoid late-game deficits. Their second game went much better, however. The Patriots started their second game at the Miami Dolphins with two big touchdowns in the first quarter – both touchdown passes from Drake Maye. This lead persisted throughout most of the game, and the Dolphins were never able to fully catch up. Even with two Dolphins touchdown passes, another field goal from the Patriots kept New England in the lead. In the fourth quarter, an incredible 90-yard return from Antonio Gibson finished off the game, with Patriots winning 33-27. Borregales had a much more inconsistent game than last time, missing two extra points in the first quarter, but then hitting a 23-yard and a 55-yard field goal later in the game. Gibson’s 90-yard touchdown was a highlight of the game, and head coach Vrabel ran alongside Gibson all the way down the field. Gibson later remarked, “If he almost caught me than I need to run faster.” The third game this week was against the Steelers, and this game was riddled with fumbles from the Patriots. The New England team fumbled the ball twice in the third quarter and four times throughout the game. The game opened with a touchdown from the Steelers as the only score in the first quarter. Both teams scored touchdowns in the second quarter, with Drake Maye throwing a touchdown pass to Hunter Henry to get the Patriots on the board. The third quarter was uneventful, with no scoring from either team; just fumbles from the Patriots. The Patriots tied the game up early in the fourth quarter with another touchdown pass from Maye to Henry, but it was not to be. A final touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers on the Steelers ended the game, with the Patriots losing 21-14. The Patriots had a rough game, with five turnovers and four fumbles throughout. Both Vrabel and Maye acknowledged later that the Patriots did too much damage to themselves and lost because of it. According to Maye, “[We’re] just hurting ourselves. It hurts. I think it’s one of those things that just kept piling on.” The Patriots host the Carolina Panthers on September 28th. According to ESPN Analytics, the Patriots are expected to win, but the odds are close. Both teams will be going into this game with a 1-2 record.