The New England Patriots’ 2024 season has taken a dark turn after a tough 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London. With the team sitting at 1-6, first-year head coach Jerod Mayo sparked attention with a blunt statement, calling his squad “a soft football team” following the defeat. Mayo’s comments came during his postgame press conference, and they’ve since created a storm of speculation around the Patriots’ locker room and their direction moving forward.
On Monday, Mayo took to the airwaves to clarify his stance during an interview on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” He attempted to reframe his original comment, explaining that he didn’t mean his players lacked toughness but that their recent performances haven’t shown the grit necessary to compete.
“Let me just go ahead and correct that,” Mayo said. “We’re playing soft, OK? Going back to training camp, there was definitely some toughness all around the place and we still have the same players, but we just got to play that way.”
It’s been a roller-coaster season for the Patriots, who opened with a shocking victory over the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals but have since dropped six straight games. Most notably, Mayo benched veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett in favor of rookie Drake Maye, sparking whispers of unrest in the locker room. While Maye showed promise, particularly in providing a spark to the offense, the team’s defensive struggles have been glaring. They’ve allowed 82 points over the last two games, including Sunday’s loss to Jacksonville, where the Jaguars piled up 171 rushing yards and returned a punt for a touchdown just before halftime.
Mayo didn’t hold back when discussing the team’s issues. “We’re playing soft at the moment. When I say playing soft, it means stopping the run, being able to run the ball, and being able to cover kicks, which we weren’t able to do,” Mayo said to media members on Monday. “Now in saying that, do I think we have the guys in there that can turn this ship around? 100 percent. But that comes through hard work and getting better each and every day.”
The concern that has followed the team since the offseason – that the Patriots may be “tanking” in favor of a long-term rebuild – only adds fuel to the fire. Rumors about discontent within the locker room have begun to grow, and if Mayo’s grip on the team slips, the Patriots’ season could unravel even further before it’s all said and done.
With a struggling New York Jets team coming to Foxborough next week, the Patriots will look to avoid a seventh straight loss. However, DraftKings Sportsbook has already listed New England as seven-point underdogs against a Jets team that has its own issues, having lost four consecutive games with interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich at the helm.
The Patriots have a lot to prove in the weeks ahead, and Mayo will need to rally his players quickly if they’re to salvage any hope of turning their season around.
