A frustrated Drake Maye struggled in the season opener Sunday at Gillette Stadium. (AP photo)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The music blared over the Gillette Stadium speakers and the big video screen showed the obligatory shot of a celebrity – this case singer Kenny Chesney – with either owner Robert Kraft or son Jonathan.

But those celebrity numbers are dwindling. Everybody loves a winner, and Gillette Stadium has no longer been a winning destination or an advantage for the New England Patriots, who heard fourth quarter boos when new head coach Mike Vrabel opted to punt on fourth-and-10 with his team trailing 20-10. He originally was going for it on fourth-and-5 before rookie Will Campbell was flagged for a false start.

But the crowd could have been booing, anway, as the Patriots lackluster second half in a steady rain was putting people to sleep. While Raiders coach Pete Carroll was pumped and jacked on the opposing sideline watching his QB, Geno Smith, make plays, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was watching his, Drake Maye, miss receivers right and left. It took 46 attempst for Maye to reach 287 yards, but the Patriots aren’t built for the second-year pro to win having to throw that much. Now granted, this Sunday against Miami on the road may be an outlier because the Dolphins stink on defense as they proved on Sunday vs. the Colts.

But the aura of Gillette is gone and the Patriots need Maye buoyed by a strong running game to bring it back. Beginning with the 2022 season, they are 7-19 at Gillette, 3-15 in their last 18 home games. Awful.

They need to physically dominate on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, the Patriots showed they have a pass rush, they have the ability to keep themselves in a game defensively. But times have changed. Those big national TV broadcasts with must-see excitement are in places like Buffalo with Josh Allen. New England isn’t even close.

Maye needs to begin changing all that. He wasn’t very accurate on Sunday and seeing his first throw sail out of bounds was not a good sign. Later in the game, he didn’t see potential deep threat Kyle Williams open down field because he was fixed on one of his two favorite receivers, tight end Hunter Henry. Henry and Kayshon Boutte combined for 169 yards in receptions but Henry should be more of a red zone threat. When Maye starts throwing to him multiple times, that’s not good sign.

If the Patriots are able to run the ball, then Maye can use play action, freeze the defense and allow for open pass patterns. The offensive line Sunday did not run block well, and Rhamondre Stevenson is not the same back he was under Bill Belichick when he was a strong back who could bounce off hits and wear teams down.

“The bottom line is we have to run better and we have to run it more efficiently because then I think that all opens up some more of the stuff that we’re doing, can do and want to be, not just a drop-back passing game.”

Which it became for the Patriots in the second half.

Vrabel was asked Monday if there was too much given to Maye to grasp right now.

“I think we have to evaluate that,” Vrabel said. “We have to find out, is there something there or we’ve just got to figure out what our guys do best and do that. Because if you do that, then you have to be realy good, as opposed to trying to scheme or get into the right situation.

“Again, we just make sure that we’re giving him answers by trying not to give him too much. I think that’s always the balance and the fine line.”

Maye clearly just didn’t look comfortable, perhaps thinking too much.

“I know that there’s times we have looks that we like, and I can think of letting a couple rip that I should have right now,” Maye said after the game Sunday. “Just taking advantage of every possession and just trying to build those guys, and like I say, get the first first down.”

The Patriots looked like they were relying more on a short passing game. Maye said there were throws downfield that were there to be made. One he missed high on over the middle, “and you don’t realize that those plays arae going to be the ones you look back on and feel like, man, if we hit those, it’s a different ballgame. It’s a bummer looking back on that now. …

It was a bummer for the Patriots and their fans alike, just like most of the games at Gillette the last three years.