The Patriots beat the Bears in Week 10 and they mounted a late comeback that fell short in Week 11 against the Rams, so there wasn’t much reason to think that they’d be uncompetitive against the Dolphins in Week 12.
That’s just what happened, however. New England gave up the first 30 points of the game, turned the ball over twice and committed 10 penalties on the way to a 34-15 loss that offered none of the hopeful developments of the previous games.
After the game, head coach Jerod Mayo said at his press conference that no team “wants to go backwards” but admitted the Patriots had done that and said that blame for the performance falls on his shoulders.
“Yeah, it starts with me. I think it starts with me and getting these guys ready to go,” Mayo said.
Mayo later noted that there’s nothing coaches can do “once those guys cross the white lines” before adding that it is his job “to continue to prepare not only them but our coaches to go out here and play better football.” Mayo’s been inconsistent on that front in his first season and the Patriots will need progress on that front in order to consistently grow on the field as well.
