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Jerod Mayo, Hunter Henry dispute reports of ‘unbothered’ Patriots locker room after loss to Dolphins
"I would say on the whole I thought that the locker room seemed a little unbothered by the whole loss."
The Patriots put together arguably their worst performance of the 2024 season on Sunday, losing to the Dolphins, 34-15, at Hard Rock Stadium.
That final score doesn’t exactly map out just how one-sided Sunday’s game in Miami Gardens was. The Dolphins had a 31-0 lead going into the fourth quarter of play.
But after a disheartening game in which New England’s offensive execution, defensive fortitude, coaching acumen, and discipline were all lacking, the mood in the Patriots’ locker room reportedly didn’t match the miserable product on the field.
While Jerod Mayo, Drake Maye, and several Patriots leaders were clearly disheartened while fielding questions at the podium following Sunday’s loss, multiple reporters on site in Miami stressed that New England’s locker room had a much lighter atmosphere.
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“Just around the corner [from Maye’s presser], it was a different scene with several players on offense smiling and laughing with one another,” MassLive’s Mark Daniels wrote. “It was a strange scene for a team that was embarrassed by the Miami Dolphins. Although not everyone was happy — several players were upset — the sounds of light laughter filled the side of the room where offensive players got dressed.”
Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard reported a similar sight while calling into 98.5 The Sports Hub following Sunday’s loss.
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“I would say my biggest takeaway from being in the locker room was that I thought — my opinion, this is my opinion from being in there and I’ve been in a bunch of different locker rooms over my 20-year career — I thought that the locker room seemed to be unbothered by today’s result,” Bedard said. “I was surprised. Maybe it’s because it was 31-0 and they had been thinking about it for a while, had come to realize the battle was lost earlier on.
“I don’t know. But I was surprised at how talkative, there were more smiles than you would think. I would say Drake Maye definitely, from what I saw, took the loss hard. There were certainly some guys that took the loss hard. But I would say on the whole I thought that the locker room seemed a little unbothered by the whole loss and I’m not sure how to process that.”
It’s a tough look for a 3-9 Patriots roster to be in high spirits after such a loss. Given the concerning optics, Jerod Mayo was asked about those reports on Monday morning.
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“I didn’t get that vibe in the locker room when I broke the team down,” Mayo said on WEEI Monday. “I told them how I felt about the game. I’m not sure where that report came from.
“What I will say is I heard one person, I guess (Vederian) Lowe, smiled during a question. But that’s him — he smiles all the time. Look, we’re disappointed. We’re all pissed off. And we all understand that we have to get better.”
Patriots tight end Hunter Henry also offered up a similar response as his head coach later on Monday during his call-in with WEEI.
“No, I didn’t hear any of that. I don’t really know who reported that,” Henry said. “I mean, I feel like maybe someone’s just trying to break a story. … They think whatever they want to think. So I didn’t spot that. I don’t have any doubt on anybody in the locker room, or on any front of how they compete, how they go about this game.
“We pour a lot into this game. Obviously, it’s not the results we want. But there’s a lot of emotions in this game. And I don’t think that was a scene at all in the locker room.”
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Regardless of the postgame mood in Miami, the Patriots need to take steps forward during practice this week to avoid another embarrassing result in Week 13 against the Colts.
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