The Patriots are the 10th-most penalized team in the NFL entering Week 7.
It is no secret that the 2024 New England Patriots have a small margin for error. The team in its current configuration is simply not equipped to overcome mistakes, especially of the self-inflicted and easily-avoidable kind.
Unfortunately, the Patriots continued shooting themselves in the foot over the first six weeks of the season en route to posting a 1-5 record. There were issues aplenty to get to that point, but one of the most frustrating from the team’s perspective is the high number of penalties: New England has been flagged 48th total times, 10th most in the NFL.
For head coach Jerod Mayo, it all comes back to focus.
“The common denominator is the lack of focus,” he said when talking about the subject on Wednesday. “We’re in the middle of the season now, and to have a penalty on the first play of the game, it’s just not acceptable. It’s a lack of focus.”
The Patriots started their Week 6 game against the Houston Texans by getting flagged ahead of the opening kickoff. Linebacker Sione Takitaki, who played in his first game back from the PUP list, was penalized for an illegal formation infraction. It was the first of nine flags thrown against New England that day, including seven in the first half alone.
For Mayo, something has to change. And so, as he announced Wednesday, he is issuing what he referred to as a “wake-up call” heading into the upcoming game versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“There will be changes for this game,” he proclaimed. “My message to the coaches and the players, really: we want our most dependable players out there that we can really count on. Pre-snap, post-snap penalties, we can’t really live that way.”
Mayo went on to clarify that there “will definitely be changes in the starting lineup” and that the Patriots will need to “put the best guys out there that give us the best chance to win.”
What those changes will ultimately look like remains to be seen. However, the owners of the NFL’s longest active losing streak are pushing all the buttons available in hopes of getting back on track.
When it comes to salvaging the 2024 season, however, it might turn out to be too little, too late.