To say the New England Patriots are struggling in Jerod Mayo’s first season as coach would be an understatement. Through seven games, the Patriots are just 1-6. They have the NFL’s second-worst scoring offense at less than 14 points per game, and they have a bottom-third scoring defense to boot.
They genuinely don’t do anything well.
The Patriots’ issues were particularly glaring during Sunday’s nondescript 32-16 blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. That’s because the Jaguars — who could be on the verge of firing Doug Pederson at any moment — are no picture of stability, either. And yet, Trevor Lawrence and Co. had their way with the Patriots, who provided little visible resistance for most of the game.
After the loss, Mayo refused to let the Patriots roost in their listless failure. He called them out for being “soft” across the board in a defeated rant:
Jerod Mayo: “We’re a soft football team.” pic.twitter.com/2zpnZYcBlg
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 20, 2024
Mayo makes a good point, but at a certain point, a spade is a spade.
With Christian Barmore out for the season and Matthew Judon in Atlanta, the once-stout Patriots’ defense is in tatters. They’re a long way away from being a functional, difference-making unit. On offense, Drake Maye has promise, but he’s a rookie quarterback surrounded by one of the NFL’s worst supporting casts from top to bottom.
It’s frankly remarkable that the awful (and rebuilding) Patriots even have a win at all at this point in the season. So, I guess, from this respect, kudos to Mayo for still coaching his team hard. He’s doing his job.
Maybe it’ll pay off in the future, though it likely won’t lead to anything now.
