AP Photo
FOXBOROUGH- The Patriots got rolled at home on Saturday, 40-7 by a good but not great Chargers team. The bottom line, the Patriots no showed and it was obvious in their performance. It was a terrible performance but then again, there have terrible performances at home a lot in recent years.
Here are seven thoughts on the loss.
1. Total no show: The Patriots no showed today. Plain and simple. They were not ready to play and they were outclassed by a good Chargers team but a team that is not a Super Bowl contender. The Patriots looked like a team that had no business being on an NFL field. It was pathetic.
2. Maye gets hurt, comes back: Drake Maye got his bell rung on the opening possession of the game on a helmet to helmet hit by Chargers cornerback Cam Hart. Maye went into the blue tent and eventually ended up in the locker room. After missing one series, Maye returned and went 12-of-22 for 85 yards and a touchdown. After the game, Maye talked about the hit and coming back into the game.
“Yeah, just kind of got my bell rung on the first drive. I don’t know if any of y’all ever played and you got hit, but sometimes you get your bell rung, and you’ve got to shake back. I guess the spotter called down again and had to pass some tests. I feel good, I still feel good, and then I was good to go.”
Maye struggled after the hit but stayed in until the later stages of the fourth quarter.
3. Fans chant for Mayo to be fired: With the game out of hand in the second, fans started chanting for head coach Jerod Mayo to be fired. The calls were pronounced and both Mayo and Patriots players heard the chants.
Nose tackle Davon Godchaux was especially vocal after the game. He did not appreciate the fans chanting for Mayo to be fired.
“Yeah, I heard it. I mean, a lot of fans are, you know — I get it. They’re pissed off. They pay their money to see — season tickets and see the Patriots. A wise person told me when I first got up here, and, you know, my first year we got here, we had some success. Then the last three years been kind of pretty much a horror show. But just call it what it is. He was like, ‘man, like, I just want to see that — I’m OK with the Patriots —‘ this was something a wise man told me, and I’m just sharing it with you guys.”
Godchaux doubled down on his comments and called for the fans out specifically.
“I’m okay with the Patriots rebuild because I saw success for the last 20 years here. So I’m OK,’ but a lot of people can’t take that. I know we don’t tank around here. We still want to win football games, but, you know, the ‘fire Mayo’ chants is just ridiculous. I mean, the guy’s first year, first season. It’s not going to be golden. We didn’t expect to go win a Super Bowl this year. I get it. Nobody wants to get beat 40-7. But the ‘fire Mayo’ chants is just ridiculous.”
To his credit, Mayo acknowledged that he heard the chants and said that the team needs to play better in order for the fans to stop chanting.
“Look, you hear those things, but at the same time, they paid to sit in the seats, and we’ve got to play better. If we play better, we don’t have to hear that stuff.”
4. Chargers physicality: The Chargers played like the physicality superior team. They leaned on the Patriots defense on the ground and they stonewalled them in pass protection. The Chargers looked like a varsity football team while the Patriots looked like a JV team. The Patriots not only need to get better from a talent standpoint, they need to get bigger physically. A strong off season in the weight room can bridge the physical gap.
5. Defense….ooof: The defense was terrible. There is no other way around it. The Chargers scored 40 points and racked up 428 yards of total offense. The tackling was bad, the run fits were poor and communication was once again an issue on the back end. It was an abysmal performance by a defense that has been bad all season.
6. Offensive line struggles. Again: Drake Maye was sacked four times, the offensive tackles struggled with Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack and the Patriots only had 85 yards passing. Like we suspected, it was a long afternoon for this group. Perhaps the toughest player to block was safety Derwin James who came off the edge several times on dagger blitzes. He sacked Maye twice and recovered a fumble. If there was one silver lining, it was Cole Strange. In his first start in over a year, Strange played well at center. He has a long way to go but he was not the problem today.
7. AVP reverts: Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt had a tough day. The offensive game plan was not good. It does not help that the offense lacks talent but the reality is, the play calling was all over the place and the Patriots could not establish anything and get into a rhythm. The toss reverse call that resulted in a fumble recovery by Derwin James was baffling. It killed a potential drive.