The Jerod Mayo era in New England began with a rousing victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. It's been all downhill from there.
The Patriots' 15-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on Sunday marked their fourth consecutive defeat and drops them to 1-4 on the season. It was a maddening performance against a very beatable Dolphins team that was on its own three-game losing streak after losing starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in Week 2.
So, what was the vibe like in New England's locker room after Sunday's loss? Is this team trending toward a "mutiny," a word that team reporter Evan Lazar floated last week (and later walked back)?
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Our Patriots Insider Phil Perry offered his perspective on a new Patriots Talk Podcast with Tom E. Curran after speaking to players at Gillette Stadium after the loss.
🔊 Patriots Talk Podcast: The Aftermath: Patriots pick the worst time for sloppy performance | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
"Frustrated. Frustrated (and) a little weary, is what I would say," Perry said. "Losing is starting to take a toll -- four games in a row now -- and players I think maybe are coming off that way, because there aren't many great answers for them to give to someone like me."
The Patriots committed a whopping 12 penalties for 105 yards on Sunday after entering the game with 16 penalties combined in their previous four games (the fewest in the NFL through Week 4). Perry noted players were well aware that those penalties proved costly Sunday.
"When you have 12 penalties and you start talking about discipline, I mean, it's obvious that that's an issue," Perry said. "Now, it really wasn't an issue through the first four games of the season, but (Sunday), 12 penalties and 105 yards sort of blows them away in terms of their chances to actually win this game.
"I know they were a toe tap away from scoring a touchdown and maybe having the outcome be a little bit different, but you can't -- even against the Dolphins, the Tyler Huntley-led Dolphins -- you can't be that sloppy and hope to win. They're just so bad offensively, they can't survive those kinds of mistakes."
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The Patriots nearly scored a go-ahead touchdown with 1:08 remaining, but wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk was ruled out of bounds after his heel hit the turf out of play. But the reality is New England had several other opportunities to win Sunday's game and squandered them with a combination of poor execution and lack of discipline.
A win would go a long way toward improving morale in Foxboro, but it might be hard to come by next Sunday when the Patriots face the 4-1 Houston Texans at home.
Also in this episode:
- Tom breaks down why the refs made the correct call overturning Ja’Lynn Polk’s TD catch, and reacts to the team’s completely undisciplined play in the loss
- Are Jerod Mayo and Alex Van Pelt on the same page?
- Is it time for Drake Maye?
- Tom and Phil share their ‘Stock Watch’ picks for Week 5 – who’s up and who’s down?