It was easy to imagine thousands of televisions around New England clicking the Patriots game off with over seven minutes left, as Miami scored their game-winning touchdown courtesy of a set-up from a defensive pass-interference call.
That’s assuming fans stayed with the rock fight of a game until that point. The 15-10 loss to Miami was death by a thousand flags. Patriots watchers who tapped out midway through the fourth quarter missed a called-back touchdown grab by Ja’Lynn Polk, followed by a false start penalty called on tight end Hunter Henry. The Patriots made a valiant effort to score again with less than a minute left, but it was too late. Fans in a Gillette stadium with lots of empty seats during the game had already headed for the exits.
The Patriots who took the field Sunday against third-string quarterback Tyler Huntley and the statistically worst offense in the league were flat-out hard to watch. They finished the day with more accepted penalties than points, and the refs confiscated more yards than the passing offense produced. Boos rained down from the crowd they tossed flags on the field and the offense moved backwards, over and over again.
“That one right there was crazy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many penalties,” running back Antonio Gibson said after the game. “We can’t blame the refs, they do their job, we’ve got to do our job.”
“Do your job” used to be a battle cry around here. Now, guys say it as a mantra while looking for solutions. Everybody appears to want to take accountability for their individual failures, but the team is clearly struggling to find answers as a group.
Injuries have thinned out a roster that was already shallow at key positions – particularly on the offensive line. From the front office to the coaching staff, rookies are learning on the job, and trying to protect their best asset from having to do the same.
Nobody wants to lose, but what makes matters worse is watching the team deteriorate week by week. They can’t help injuries, but they look miles sloppier than the prideful group that beat Cincinnati in Week 1.
“That’s part of shooting ourselves in the foot. When we get penalties, we set ourselves back. Some might not seem fair, but that doesn’t even matter,” center Nick Leverett said in front of his locker after the game.
Leverett had just been on his knees in prayer. He said he thanks God after good games and bad, “and for the ugly.”
When our conversation turned to the locker room’s faith in head coach Jerod Mayo, he was passionate in his support.
“I 100% want to play for Mayo. I am 100% behind Mayo in everything he’s coaching. I have no doubts on Mayo, I feel he’s a great coach. It’s going to get better,” he said.
The stretch of growth Mayo has to lead this locker room through is painful to watch, and it must test his emotional intelligence right along with his football I.Q. He’s clearly still connecting with young players thrust into starting roles, like Leverett. That matters a lot for a team in early stages of a rebuild – and don’t fool yourself – this team is basically in the first year of a true rebuild. The last gasp of the Belichick era was a once-flashy sports car still held together by duct tape and cardboard that ultimately failed inspection.
The only place the team has to go from here is to make good on the promise Mayo made at the beginning of the season, which is to strive to improve from week to week. That’s not who they’ve been since the Seattle loss in Week 2. But, the season is long and the team is young. Improvement may not be enough to make for appointment television or sold-out home games, but it might be the only attainable goal for this year.