Breer: How Pats opponents evaluated Mayo’s first two weeks originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Jerod Mayo is off to a solid start as Bill Belichick’s successor in New England.
The Patriots’ first-year head coach started the 2024 season with a surprising win over the Cincinnati Bengals and fell just short of 2-0 with an overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Although there’s plenty of room for improvement, it’s fair to say the Mayo-led Patriots have exceeded expectations through the first two weeks of the campaign.
Mayo left a positive impression on his first two opponents, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. On Thursday’s Patriots Pregame Live, Breer shared how Cincinnati and Seattle coaches evaluated the new-look Pats during their respective matchups.
“Talking to Bengals coaches, one thing that came up consistently was that the identity is through the power running game, which I think is obvious to all of us,” Breer said. “And also that there are a lot of marks of Cleveland in that run game. Obviously, the Bengals (are) very familiar with Cleveland being in the AFC North and (offensive coordinator) Alex Van Pelt coming from there, so that makes sense.
“Talking to the Seahawks was interesting. What came back from them was that it looked like a typical Patriot team. Good situational play. They’re doing things at the end of the halves that lean on their strengths. They played really hard, and they were also able to identify and exploit Seattle’s weaknesses.
“So I think those would be two check marks in the first two games from Jerod Mayo’s staff in that they were able to import some things from outside the building and then also able to maintain some things that they have done well over the years from inside the building.”
The Patriots have leaned heavily on the running game in Van Pelt’s offense. Given the state of the offensive line, that isn’t expected to change any time soon.
Running back Rhamondre Stevenson has 201 rushing yards on 46 carries (4.4 YPC) and two touchdowns through the first two games. Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett is 30-for-51 (58.8 percent) with 270 yards and just one TD. He has already been hit 15 times, including four sacks.
While the offense has struggled, Mayo’s defense has risen to the occasion. The group ranks fifth in points allowed (16.5) and second in rushing yards allowed per game (58.0). Outside of a brutal miscue on DK Metcalf’s 56-yard TD on Sunday, the pass defense has held its own despite the losses of standouts Christian Barmore and Matthew Judon.
Mayo and Co. will look to improve to 2-1 with a win over the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football.
