The New England Patriots finished the preseason with a 1-2 record after falling to the Washington Commanders 20-10 on Sunday night.
One glaring area of concern for the Patriots has been the struggles of the offensive line, especially after the unit committed 10 penalties for 157 yards in the contest.
"I think that the biggest concern for me is not the X's and O's of what to do; it's the lack of discipline that they showed today," Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters after the loss. "And that's on all of us, that's on me. It starts with me. I got to be more diligent and getting on those guys about pre-snap penalties and the rest of the coaches have to do the same. But, the players also have to take responsibility for those pre-snap penalties."
Mayo explained that the Patriots coaches and players had to look to the referees for guidance after being warned about illegal formations, which the offensive line was called for four times in the first half alone.
"We got flagged because we didn't adjust," Mayo said. "... If you see (the refs) calling those types of plays, you got to self-correct and get better. We just didn't do that tonight. We have to gel as a unit. That's one of those units where you got to be close on the field and off the field and build that trust. It's a process that we're continuing to go through."
Mayo added: "I think the most frustrating part was after you've been told that you have to move up, that they continue to line up the same way. ... The point of emphasis is (the refs) always give you a warning like the tackles are too far back and things like that. We had those warnings and we didn't take heat, and they threw the flag. ... Once again, the most frustrating part was, this is how they're calling your alignment, let's make those adjustments."
The Patriots have a couple of weeks to work on their formations before they travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals in Week 1 action on Sept. 8.
