Check out what the experts are saying about the Patriots heading into Week 9
Last week’s storyline has gone soft. The new thinking is head coach Jerod Mayo knew what he was doing when he publicly called out his team, and that his words spurred – or shamed – the players into action.
While Sunday was a fun win — and it’s always a good day to beat the Jets, I’m not so quick to read too much into the victory. Using the softness scale, the Jets team that showed up at Gillette Stadium ranked “custard”. The Jets were the perfect opponent for the Pats to rebound against and show they could indeed fight, and win. That’s all to the good, but we’ll have to play more games and see what sticks. Frankly, the wins and losses don’t mean as much to me this season as a good showing. Win or lose I will cheer louder for the Patriots when they have few to no penalties, a positive turnover ratio, kept the QB upright, and have the offense turn a red-zone visit into points.
Week 9 has the Patriots facing another winnable matchup on the softness scale, the pudding-like 1-6 Tennessee Titans. Yes, I’m saying there’s a chance. The Jets have the 6-2 Texans and the Dolphins face the division-leading Bills. Aside from Buffalo, the AFC East ranks “applesauce” and I’ll admit it’s been amusing to watch the Jets and Fins sputter.
The NFL has hit the 2024 halfway point and the standings are still fluid, but there won’t be as much room to maneuver in the rankings after this week. Here’s hoping New England can continue to prove themselves right about hiring Jerod Mayo, and the Titans wrong for firing Mike Vrabel. Pats win another close one.
GO PATS!
Around the AFC East:
Buffalo Bills (6-2) vs. Miami Dolphins (2-5)
New England Patriots (2-6) at Tennessee Titans (1-6)
New York Jets (2-6) vs. Houston Texans (6-2)
AFC Matchups:
Kansas City Chiefs (7-0) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4)
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) – Bye Week
Baltimore Ravens (5-3) vs. Denver Broncos (5-3)
Indianapolis Colts (4-4) at Minnesota Vikings (5-2)
Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) at Cleveland Browns (2-6)
Cincinnati Bengals (3-5) vs. Las Vegas Raiders (2-6)
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6) at Philadelphia Eagles (5-2)
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25th – Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk): Maybe Jerod Mayo should call his team soft every week. [+6]
26th – Nate Davis (USA Today): Rookie QB Drake Maye notched his first NFL win while in concussion protocol. So if this team is “soft” … [+1]
27th – Diante Lee (The Ringer): Soft teams don’t pull through in games like this. With Aaron Rodgers finding his groove and Drake Maye exiting the game with a concussion, I had no expectations that New England would be able to move the ball well enough to stay in the game against the Jets on Sunday—let alone be able to win. But the Patriots clearly have more fight in them than I (and head coach Jerod Mayo) gave them credit for coming out of last week. I like that in Week 8, this team won in all the ways that cost the Patriots games under Bill Belichick last season. Special teams played a part in New England taking the lead int he second half, the offensive line kept its quarterbacks upright in the pocket, and good game management by Mayo left no time for New York to come back. This team deserved better than being called soft last week, and I’m hoping the fallout was a teachable moment for a young head coach. [nc]
27th – Staff (The Score): New England’s group of skill-position players has been a major disappointment. No Patriots player has more than one receiving TD so far, and Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte are the only wide receivers with 100-plus yards. [+1]
27th – Ryan Dunleavy (NY Post). [+5]
28th – Pete Prisco (CBS Sports): Beating the Jets came at the right time for head coach Jerod Mayo. His team sure didn’t look soft on Sunday in that victory. [+3]
29th – Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News): The Patriots were called out for being “soft” by coach Jerod Mayo. He shouldn’t say anything like that again after they fought hard until the winning end against the Jets. They went back to the formula of running well and playing clutch defense, led by a revived Rhamondre Stevenson. The bummer was losing Drake Maye to a concussion after a good start. [+1]
29th – NFL Nation (ESPN): Best offseason addition: Quarterback Drake Maye. No need to overcomplicate it — Maye has injected life into the Patriots’ offense since being elevated to the starting lineup in Week 6. The No. 3 pick is currently in concussion protocol after taking a hit to the helmet late in the first quarter of Sunday’s win. Before he left the game, his running ability complemented his passing prowess with three scrambles for 46 yards. That type of dual threat has transformed the team’s offense. — Mike Reiss. [+2]
29th – Matt Johnson (SportsNaut): The New England Patriots win the strangest games. Nearly two months after a stunning victory in the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, New England pulled off another surprise. Weeks removed from an ugly 24-3 loss to the New York Jets, the Patriots’ chances seemed awful and even more so after Drake Maye (concussion) left the game. Then, Jacoby Brissett came off the bench and did just enough enough to win it with 22 seconds left. This game might say a lot more about the Jets than it does the Patriots, but a win is a win and Jerod Mayo needed it. [+3]
30th – Consensus (Bleacher Report): The New England Patriots entered Week 8 a reeling team whose own head coach called them “soft” a week ago. When starting quarterback Drake Maye went down, it looked like it was going to be another long day in Beantown. Instead, veteran backup Jacoby Brissett and the Patriots defense both stepped up, and a late touchdown run from running back Rhamondre Stevenson gave New England its first win at Gillette Stadium in over a year. Brissett told reporters after the game that New England’s players took their coach’s criticism to heart. … Frankly, it was a game that likely said more about the Jets than the Patriots. But for a team that hadn’t won since the season opener, a victory was a welcome change of pace. … [+1]
30th – Conor Orr (SI): We saw Jerod Mayo win a game the week after calling his team soft, and Antonio Pierce win a game a week after calling out some of his players for making “business decisions.” That leaves me with three hypotheses. The first is that former player coaches can get away with saying a lot more than non-player coaches (unless you’re Jeff Saturday). The second is that it needed to be said and that most players respected the two for bringing it up. The third is that players tune out their bosses just like we do when there’s a speech about corporate culture, innovation or when we get a heat seeking message that begins: PER MY LAST EMAIL. Oooh. *Shivers.* [nc]
30th – Frank Schwab (Yahoo! Sports): The Patriots’ win over the Jets is good for head coach Jerod Mayo and what he’s trying to build. It seemed like they might be going on a long losing streak before beating a more talented division rival. The bad news was Drake Maye and his concussion. New England has to be careful with his return. [+1]
30th – Eric Edholm (NFL.com): The Patriots won at Gillette Stadium for the first time in 372 days, and it wasn’t easy. It took both quarterbacks, with Jacoby Brissett stepping in for Drake Maye (who left with a concussion) and gamely leading two clutch fourth-quarter drives. It also took nearly every second, with Rhamondre Stevenson just crossing the goal-line with 22 seconds remaining for the go-ahead score on fourth down. This was a sneaky big victory for Jerod Mayo, who was threatening to sink into Rod Rust-Dick MacPherson territory with another loss — especially a week after calling his team “soft.” New England followed a Week 1 upset of the Bengals with a succession of defeats, each seemingly worse than the one before, so this outcome was a pleasant development. Maye’s injury is concerning, but at least Mayo and the Patriots stanched the bleeding for now. [+1]
31st – Ben Rolfe (Pro Football Network): Offense Rank: 30, Defense Rank: 28, Special Teams Rank: 1, SOS Rank: 19. A win over the Jets in Week 8 does not change anything about this team. They remain in a tier of their own in our power rankings. They are not as bad as the Panthers because being that bad is a special level reserved just for that team, but they are still a bad team overall. They rank in the bottom five for both offense and defense, and that does not look like changing any time soon. [nc] /Jets still ranked 15th, lolz.
AVG RANK: 28.4 [+1.8]