Mayo responds to Tavai’s candid comments about Patriots fans booing originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots have been a disaster during the 2024 NFL season. There’s no other way to describe it. This team is 3-13 and literally sits at the bottom of the league standings.
The defense has underwhelmed significantly, and the offense — outside of rookie quarterback Drake Maye — hasn’t shown much improvement from last season. No one expected the Patriots to compete for a playoff spot this year, but another season of four or fewer wins with very few players showing meaningful signs of growth isn’t good.
So it wasn’t surprising when a lot of fans who were willing to show up to last Saturday’s Week 17 game against the Los Angeles Chargers booed the Patriots on their way to an embarrassing 40-7 loss. Some fans also started a “Fire (Jerod) Mayo” chant.
Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai was asked Friday about the boos and the Mayo chant, and he didn’t hold back in his response.
“There’s a reason why they’re fans,” Tavai said on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show. “Everybody can say what they think we should be doing, but in the long end they’re not qualified to do what Mayo is doing or whatever the Krafts are doing.
“They’re fans, I appreciate them at times, but sometimes they just gotta know their place and understand that it’s a work in progress. Rome wasn’t built in one day.”
Saying fans should “know their place” is really something. The fans make it all possible. And without them, there is no product. It’s that simple. These fans spent valuable money and holiday time to go to Foxboro and sit in the cold and watch their favorite team play. They have every right to boo, especially when the team loses by 33 points.
The Patriots used to be almost unbeatable at home. In fact, they went 19-0 at home, including the playoffs, during the 2003 and 2004 seasons combined. Those days are long gone, though. The Patriots have won only two home games since the start of the 2023 campaign.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo was asked about Tavai’s comments during his Friday press conference.
“I’ve handled that internally,” Mayo said. “We had a conversation about it, so we’ll keep that in house.”
The Patriots have one more game to play Sunday against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium. It’s the last opportunity for fans to express how they feel about this team and how the season unfolded.
And if it looks like the Patriots are going to beat the Bills and not clinch the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, fans will probably voice their displeasure quite a bit.
