The struggles of the New England Patriots continued in Week 12 in a rather lopsided loss to the Miami Dolphins. And after the game, Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo took the majority of the blame for the team’s lifeless effort for much of the game.
Going into the fourth quarter, the Patriots trailed 31-0 in the game. And while they did manage to score 15 fourth-quarter points, it was far too late to even make the game competitive.
Now, the Patriots sit at 3-9 on the season, which is perhaps somewhat to be expected with rookie quarterback Drake Maye at the helm going through some struggles as many rookies do.
Still, Jerod Mayo believes that the team has “taken a step back” in this game, taking ownership of the team’s lack of preparation leading into the matchup.
“Yeah, it starts with me. I think it starts with me and getting these guys ready to go,” Mayo said via Pro Football Talk.
It seems like Mayo has taken a bit of a change of heart about the issues that plague the team this season when it comes to who is truly at blame for their struggles.
Earlier this season, Mayo opted not to take the blame, instead calling out his team for being “soft” after a Week 7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
At this point in the season, the Patriots don’t have all that much to play for except for positive momentum heading into the 2025-26 season.
Still, it would be nice to see Drake Maye performing at a high level for the remainder of the season, which will likely be a key goal of Mayo and the Patriots coaching staff.
The Patriots will host the Indianapolis Colts next weekend, where Mayo will look to do a better job at having his team prepared for the game.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.