Jerod Mayo: ‘We have to find a way to get over the hump’ in close games
One week after getting blown out by the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots were 12 seconds away from beating the Indianapolis Colts, falling 25-24 on a last-minute touchdown and two-point conversion.
Unfortunately, that continued what has become a concerning trend for the Patriots in head coach Jerod Mayo’s first season: an inability to win close games. Seven of the Patriots’ 13 games this season have been decided by one score, but they are now just 2-5 in those games.
They have not gotten any better in tight games as the season has gone on, either, as they have now lost each of their last three one-score games (Week 9 in Tennessee, Week 11 against the Rams, and now Sunday against the Colts).
“This is what I continue to try to tell the guys: This is the NFL. We've been in seven one-score games,” Mayo said Monday morning during his weekly appearance on The Greg Hill Show. “Seven one-score games. We have to find a way to get over the hump and win those games. I’ve got to do a better job.”
Mayo identified arguably the biggest problem: Red-zone struggles on both offense and defense.
“To me, the game came down to red area,” Mayo said. “Defensively, we were poor. Offensively, we were poor in the red area. We walk away with no points on the [missed] field goal. We have to execute. That is the NFL.”
Unfortunately, that also continued a season-long trend. The Patriots have scored just 17 touchdowns on 38 red-zone trips offensively this season, including going 2-for-6 on Sunday. That 44.7% success rate ranks 30th in the NFL.
On defense, they have allowed opponents to score 28 touchdowns on 46 trips to the red zone (60.9%), which ranks 23rd. The Colts finished off three of their four red-zone trips Sunday with a touchdown, including the late three-yard strike from Anthony Richardson to Alec Pierce.
Asked if the red-zone struggles are more about play-calling from the coaches or execution from the players, Mayo said there is plenty of blame to go around.
“To me, it's everyone,” he said. “We can say play selection. We can say execution. The field gets shorter the lower you get down. … We have to get a hat on a hat and score touchdowns, and we just weren't able to do that. And I would say defensively, we weren't able to stop them.”
