After the New England Patriots lost 32-16 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 7’s battle between one-win teams in London, the Patriots were called out by their coach, Jerod Mayo.
Mayo started his postgame press conference by calling it a “disappointing game.” After briefly mentioning his team’s strong start, Mayo called the Patriots “soft.”
“We came out, we started fast,” Mayo said. “What I would say is we’re a soft football team across the board. We talk about what makes a tough football team. It’s being able to run the ball, it’s being able to stop the run and it’s being able to cover kicks. We did none of those today. They controlled the ball for most of the day. They’re run game averaged over 4.5 yards a carry. Our run game — I’m not sure what the average is, but it wasn’t good. Back to the drawing board. We can’t sit here and pout.”
“We’re a soft football team across the board.” – Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo after a 32-16 loss to the Jaguars
(via @MikeReiss) pic.twitter.com/laMQFAHFgu
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 20, 2024
We can’t argue with his analysis.
Despite opening up a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter, the Patriots trailed the Jaguars 22-10 at halftime. Part of Jacksonville’s dominant second quarter was Parker Washington’s 96-yard punt return for a touchdown. The Jags also won the time of possession battle 33:15-26:45. Mayo’s instincts on the run game were also largely correct. Jacksonville rushed for 171 yards on 39 attempts, just under 4.4 yards per carry. New England, meanwhile, tallied only 38 rushing yards on 15 attempts, barely over 2.5 yards per attempt.
Mayo’s first season at the helm in New England has not gone well. After a Week 1 win against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Patriots have dropped the last six games.
So, while Mayo correctly identified the problem, his next task — fixing the problem — will be a lot harder.
