Why Patriots’ Season Is ‘Frustrating’ For JuJu Smith-Schuster So Far

FOXBORO, Mass. — The first two games of JuJu Smith-Schuster’s Patriots tenure were frustrating and annoying for the veteran wide receiver.

Not because of his surprisingly limited role in New England’s offense, though that might be true.

No, Smith-Schuster said he was perturbed by the script each of those games followed: early double-digit deficits, followed by spirited comebacks that ultimately fell just short at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 25-20 in Week 1 and to the Miami Dolphins 24-17 in Week 2 — two narrow losses to contender-level opponents that resulted in New England’s first 0-2 start to a season since 2001.

“We’re just hungry, man,” Smith-Schuster said Wednesday. “We’re just hungry for a W. We put in so much hard work these past two weeks, and that word ‘close’ is kind of getting annoying. We want to actually put good stuff on film and actually go out there and win football games.”

The Patriots were burned by early miscues in both losses. Three first-half turnovers — a Mac Jones pick-six and fumbles by Ezekiel Elliott and Demario Douglas — gifted Philly and Miami a total of 20 points. New England trailed 16-0 in the first quarter of its first game and 17-3 at halftime in its second.

“It’s very close,” Smith-Schuster said. “It’s just a couple early plays early in the games that kind of hurt us in both past games with turnovers. If we don’t have those mistakes, I think we’d be doing very, very well.”

Jones, the Patriots’ third-year quarterback, said after Sunday night’s defeat that every member of the team “just has to do more.” Smith-Schuster believes execution is the issue, not effort.

“That’s the thing, though — we do work hard,” the wideout said. “And that’s the part that, like, I’m bothered, because we work so hard day in and day out. I see these guys come to work every single day, put in the time and work and effort and compete, and we fall short in two games.

“So, it’s frustrating. You go home and you study all night long, and you go in and you’re so close. You need, like, an A-plus pass and you get, like, a B. It’s the worst feeling ever.”

The Patriots also will be hoping for more production from Smith-Schuster as the season progresses. They signed the 26-year-old to a three-year, $25.5 million contract this offseason to be an upgrade over departed top receiver Jakobi Meyers, and he has not lived up to that hype thus far.

Two games in, Smith-Schuster has nine catches on 13 targets for 61 yards and no touchdowns. He’s played just 57% of New England’s offensive snaps — which would be by far the lowest rate of his career if that usage persists — despite DeVante Parker missing Week 1 with an injury and impressive rookie slot receiver Douglas getting benched early in Week 2.

The Patriots and Smith-Schuster will be eyeing more positive results when they visit the New York Jets this Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

“We put in so much work,” Smith-Schuster said. “I don’t think we need to work harder than we’ve been doing, but we can’t make those early mistakes early in games.”