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The New England Patriots' latest loss wasn't pretty, falling to the Los Angeles Chargers, 40-7. As the Patriots fell to 3-13 with the loss, Jerod Mayo's hot seat possibly grew warmer.
Patriots fans certainly made it clear that they're displeased with Mayo and the coaching staff during Saturday's game. In the closing moments of Saturday's loss, Patriots fans chanted “Fire Mayo” at Gillette Stadium.
Mayo heard those chants and understood the frustration.
“Look, you hear those things, but at the same time, they paid to sit in the seats, and we've got to play better,” Mayo told reporters. “If we play better, we don't have to hear that stuff.”
New England was thoroughly outclassed in its loss to Los Angeles, which might have been its worst yet this season. The Patriots were outgained were outgained by 247 yards, 428-181. The Chargers won the time of possession battle, holding the ball for over twice as long as the Patriots did (40:34 to 19:26). The Patriots weren't able to get a sack on Sunday while Drake Maye was sacked four times. Los Angeles converted on 10 of 17 third-down opportunities and converted on both of their fourth-down chances. The Patriots went just 2 of 10 on third down and didn't convert on any of their three fourth-down chances.
What Jerod Mayo told Patriots following blowout loss to Chargers
As the Patriots were dominated across the board on Saturday, Mayo's message to his team was pretty blunt.
“This is what I told the players: There’s really nothing good to take out of that game today,” Mayo said. “Just the lack of execution. Look, that's a good football team, and they're a well-coached football team. We just didn't play well enough in any phase of the game. No complementary football, and that's what you get.”
All of those aforementioned problems led to the Patriots suffering their worst defeat in terms of point differential this season. Ahead of Saturday's game, it was reported by NFL Media's Ian Rapoport that Mayo was likely safe from being fired barring a “calamity” in the final two weeks of the season.
Saturday's game could certainly be definite as a calamity. At the very least, it didn't quell any concerns over Mayo's status as the Patriots head coach. As hot seat rumors and discussion will likely increase in the coming days, Mayo isn't stressing out too much over that noise.
“I'm always under pressure and it's been that way for a very long time, not just when I became the head coach of the Patriots,” Mayo said. “I'm OK. Look, I always do what's best for the team.”
Beyond Mayo, there have also been questions about the future of the Patriots' coordinators. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington have dealt with scrutiny for much of the season as their units have been among the worst in the league.
Mayo still has faith in his coaching staff, though.
“I have nothing but confidence in the coaching staff, and we'll get better,” Mayo said. “That's part of what we have to do. I have to look at the film to see some of those things you're talking about what happened on the field. But we've got to get better.”
If a decision hasn't been made yet, the Patriots' coaching staff will have just one more opportunity to prove they're worthy of another season when they host the Buffalo Bills in Week 18.
