The Patriots were just a few plays away from starting their season 2-0.

But Jerod Mayo’s squad couldn’t finish against the Seahawks in Week 2 and now have a short turnaround before playing Aaron Rodgers and the 1-1 Jets in New Jersey on Thursday night.

Here are players who must improve or do more in Week 3 for the Patriots to prevail over their divisional foes.

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RB Rhamondre Stevenson

Impossible, right? Stevenson has carried the Patriots on his back for two weeks, totaling 46 carries for 201 yards with two touchdowns and catching five passes on eight targets for 15 yards.

The starting running back needs to stop fumbling. Stevenson has fumbled in both of the Patriots’ contests, and he’s been lucky that the ball has bounced his team’s way. That likely won’t continue.

Stevenson was also outperformed by Antonio Gibson, who had 11 carries for 96 yards and one catch for seven yards in Sunday’s loss.

Stevenson is the focal point of the Patriots’ offense, and he needs to be at his best every week to have any hopes of winning.

At some point, the Patriots are going to need to scale down Stevenson’s workload. He’s on pace for 434 touches this season. But the Jets are vulnerable on the ground, and they’re dealing with injuries on defense. If Stevenson can play at his best and improve his ball security, the Patriots can pull this out.

WR DeMario Douglas

This is on quarterback Jacoby Brissett and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt more than Douglas, but it’s inarguable that the Patriots need to get their shifty slot receiver more involved.

Douglas averaging just one catch and 1.5 targets per game is not a winning formula for an offense that lacks top-tier playmakers.

Whether it’s a chemistry issue between Brissett and Douglas or the starting QB lacking experience throwing to a shorter wide receiver, the Patriots need to get this issue fixed and start getting the second-year receiver more opportunities.

The offense looked completely different when Douglas was on the field in training camp. There’s hope that some of the offensive issues will fix themselves when Douglas gets more involved in games, as well.

RT Mike Onwenu

Onwenu is the Patriots’ highest-paid offensive player, and he was their lowest-graded pass blocker (via PFF) in Sunday’s loss.

That’s a problem.

The Jets were dealt a blow when Jermaine Johnson suffered a torn Achilles in their Week 2 win over the Titans. Will McDonald IV, Micheal Clemons and Takk McKinley will now see more opportunities rushing the passer.

Onwenu allowed three pressures in Week 2, and he found himself on the ground too often. He needs to hold up better to allow Brissett a better opportunity to throw down field.

CB Marcus Jones

Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a game-high 12 catches in Sunday’s Patriots loss, and 48 of his 117 yards were allowed by Jones.

In total, Jones let up seven catches on 10 targets for 63 yards against the Seahawks. He had one pass breakup, and one of the incompletions against him was dropped.

Jones certainly wasn’t terrible against the Seahawks, and he was impressive Week 1 against the Bengals, but if there was a weakness in the Patriots’ starting secondary on Sunday, it was the 2022 third-round pick.

Allen Lazard, a long-time target of Rodgers, was in the slot Week 2 against the Titans. Jones is 5-foot-8, 188 pounds while Lazard is 6-foot-5, 227 pounds. That’s a tough matchup for the undersized cornerback.

But the Patriots will need Christian Gonzalez to check Garrett Wilson, which would leave 5-foot-9 cornerback Jonathan Jones on another tall target, 6-foot-4, 218-pound wide receiver Mike Williams.

The Patriots have been using Marco Wilson as a rotational cornerback to give Jonathan Jones a rest. Given the wide receiver matchups, Alex Austin, who’s 6-foot-1, 191 pounds, might be a better fit in Week 3.

Wilson has also been flagged for defensive pass interference in two straight weeks.

S Kyle Dugger

Overall, Dugger played a good game on Sunday. He had a sack, a hurry and five defensive stops, per PFF, but he also took responsibility for the biggest play New England gave up against the Seahawks, a 56-yard touchdown catch by DK Metcalf.

Dugger explained after the game that he made a “max blitz” call. Dugger and Gonzalez kept their eyes on quarterback Geno Smith for too long, allowing Metcalf to sprint past them for a long touchdown catch.

The margin for error is slim this season for the Patriots. They can’t win while also allowing those types of big plays.

Including the 56-yarder, Dugger let up six catches on six targets for 77 yards, per PFF.