The New England Patriots got outperformed, out-coached and humiliated by the Los Angeles Chargers in Saturday’s Week 17 contest. It was so bad, in fact, that fans turned their backs on Jerod Mayo at Gillette Stadium.
Since the Patriots gave their home crowd nothing to cheer for on the field, a contingent of those in attendance started a loud and clear “Fire Mayo” chat during New England’s 40-7 loss, which dropped the team to 3-13. The message perfectly capped off a dreary all-around performance from the Patriots on both sides of the ball.
Mayo, however, took the high road.
“Look, you hear those things but at the same time they paid to sit in the seats and we gotta play better, and if we play better we don’t have to hear that stuff,” Mayo told reporters, per team-provided video.
Mayo’s spent the majority of his debut season pelted with skepticism about whether or not he’s the man for the job. The Patriots knew they were in for a rebuild coming off last season’s 4-13 finish before Bill Belichick was shown the door by team owner Robert Kraft. However, Mayo’s entry into head coaching hasn’t been the least bit promising. Through misspeaking with the media, failing to prepare the team and regressing each week, the case for a Mayo return isn’t an easy sell.
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The Patriots watched in misery as the Chargers clinched their playoff spot at Gillette Stadium. Los Angeles held possession of the ball for 23:20 in the first half — New England held the ball for 6:40 — as Mayo’s squad spent most of the evening punting away and granting the Chargers a chance at their next scoring opportunity.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye suffered an injury scare in the first quarter and made a trip to the injury tent before he rejoined teammates for the Week 17 nightmare. Fans had enough and let Mayo, Kraft and the entire organization know how they felt about sitting back and watching the Patriots.
