All eyes are on Robert Kraft as the painful reality of the Patriots' rebuild sets in Chris Mason

LONDON — As a crowd of Londoners chanted his name in a packed bar Saturday night, Robert Kraft had a message for Patriots fans at the Greenwood Sports Pub.

“This is incredible. I came in here and was inspired, and I have to carry that into the locker room tomorrow,” Kraft said. “I’m telling you, there is nothing more important to our family than winning football games.”

On Sunday afternoon at Wembley Stadium, the only message that reached the visitors' dressing room was that the Patriots were “a soft football team through and through”. At least that's what Jerod Mayo said publicly after his team lost 32-16 to an underperforming Jacksonville team. Behind closed doors, Mayo's message might have contained even more vinegar.

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For the second year in a row, the Patriots delivered an embarrassing performance on the international stage.

Last November's 10-6 defeat in Frankfurt, Germany, gave way to Sunday's defeat in London. The Jaguars didn't just beat Kraft's team. They bullied the Patriots. With a two-point lead heading into the second half, the Jaguars ran the ball on 17 consecutive plays because they had so little respect for New England's run defense.

“They talk about what makes a strong football team: it's the ability to run the ball, stop the run and cover kicks. We didn’t do any of that today,” Mayo said.

The loss snapped the 6-1 Patriots' first six-game losing streak since 1993, the year before Kraft bought the team, and now all eyes are on the 83-year-old owner, who is making the case at every turn for the importance of it is to win. Not only are the Patriots not winning, they aren't even playing competitively. In four of the last five defeats the difference was more than 15 points.

Given the painful reality of an impending rebuild, does Kraft have the patience to stay the course? Or will heads roll? It's hard to say because Kraft's expectations have been very high this season. They were quite high at the owners' meetings in March.

“My hope and expectations are to make the playoffs,” Kraft said. “That’s realistic – we have a new management team, we will have a lot of young players that we don’t know. A lot can happen. We might fight more than I'd like. But the good news when you run a company is that you try to figure out the key variables and then put people in who you think can respond and adapt to what needs to happen. I really feel like we have a good young team. I just hope we don’t have any problems.”

But now the struggle is real.

The Patriots — who haven't won a playoff game since 2018 — are heading into their third straight losing season, and this one might be the worst of them all.

Will Kraft have the patience to let things unfold? Or does a team that seems increasingly dysfunctional call for action? Is there any interference in football operations involving one of the game officials — Alex Van Pelt or DeMarcus Covington — or even a firing somewhere, be it on the coaching staff or in the front office?

While Bill Belichick left the Patriots offense hungry for talent almost everywhere, Eliot Wolf and Co. have been singing with some Band-Aids of their own. Jacoby Brissett was benched earlier than expected because he was struggling, Chuks Okorafor left the team, Nick Leverett was cut, Antonio Gibson ran for four yards on three carries on Sunday, Austin Hooper lamented his slow start last week and KJ Osborn has fallen behind on the wide receiver depth chart – despite having a touchdown catch at Wembley Stadium.

As for some of the offensive players in the 2024 NFL Draft class, Ja'Lynn Polk has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons, Caedan Wallace is stuck on injured reserve, Layden Robinson has been in and out of the lineup, and Javon Baker has Haven't played since week 3; The point is, the blame doesn't lie solely with Belichick's roster at this point. There is a lot to do.

However, Drake Maye's promise could be everyone's salvation.

The No. 3 overall pick looks like he can play, and there seems to be one thing in agreement in the buzzing locker room right now: They believe in Maye.

The rookie took another step forward in Sunday's loss, going 26 of 37 for 276 yards and throwing two touchdown passes. Maye didn't turn the ball over, only picked up two sacks and is clearly heading in the right direction. The offense was at its best when he stood high in the pocket and hurled the football. It's simple Look Better when Maye is back.

Is a better-looking passing game alone enough to convince Kraft that his team is headed for success? While the undermanned Patriots play largely boring football, Maye is the only hope left after another lopsided defeat in London.