Jerod Mayo slammed his “soft” New England Patriots players after they were outmuscled and outplayed by the Jacksonville Jaguars at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
The Patriots made a flying start and led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, but they gave up 25 unanswered points either side of halftime to slump to a 32-16 defeat in the battle of two of the worst teams in the NFL. Both the Patriots and Jags were 1-5 coming in, but it was Trevor Lawrence and Jacksonville who were wholly superior in every department.
The difference between the teams was summed up in the trenches. The Patriots could muster just 38 rushing yards, 18 of which came on scrambles from quarterback Drake Maye. The Jags (2-5), meanwhile, racked up 171 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns for Tank Bigsby, with New England’s defense unable to get off the field and give the ball back to their quarterback.
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The Patriots are 1-6 and spiraling on a six-game losing streak, and Mayo fired the ultimate criticism at his players both in the locker room and at his postgame press conference.
“We’re a soft football team across the board,” he said. “What makes a tough football team is being able to run the ball, being able to stop the run, and being able to cover kicks and we did none of those today. [It is] back to the drawing board. We can’t sit here and pout. We just have to put a game together.”
Mayo’s insult was ringing in the ears of his players at England’s national stadium, and it will reverberate around Foxborough throughout the week.
An impressive performance from Drake Maye could not prevent the Pats from succumbing to a sixth straight loss (
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Linebacker Jahlani Tavai believes Mayo’s harsh words are what the team needs. “He said it well,” Tavai told reporters. “We have to look in the mirror and we have to understand what he’s saying. If we’re OK being soft, some guys will fall off. The rest of us who want to prove that wrong will step up and make sure this doesn’t happen.”
Despite seeing his teammates crumble around him, rookie QB Maye somehow still managed to impress in his second NFL start. The No. 3 overall pick threw for 276 yards and two scores with no turnovers, but he cut a dejected figure in his postgame press conference.
“Coach Mayo isn’t going to come in here and say something he hasn’t said in the locker room,” Maye said, echoing his head coach’s verdict. “We’re not tough. You always preach being tough. He preached it today.
“Being tough is running the football, stopping the run, and covering kicks, is what he said. I think he does a great job of leaving the message to us. And the guys know. Jon Jones gave a speech after the game, saying, ‘You gotta find it. You gotta find something.’ What we’re doing is not good enough. You’ve got to man up.”
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