The Patriots have a depth problem — and it’s making their mistakes more costly
New England gave up 24 points in the second quarter of a 34-15 loss to Miami on Sunday.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Patriots coach Jerod Mayo benched offensive tackle Demontrey Jacobs in favor of Sidy Sow, but at that point, the damage was done.
The Patriots gave up 24 points in the second quarter of a 34-15 loss to the Dolphins Sunday, and Jacobs struggled from the outset. He committed three costly penalties in the first half — one false start and two holds — and gave Miami’s Chop Robinson little resistance in his path to the quarterback (Robinson finished with 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hits).
So why did Mayo wait until the fourth quarter to bench him? It seems the coach doesn’t think he has the necessary depth.
“Now, it’s easy to say, ‘We’ll just put a guy here, put a guy in and take this guy out,’ but then you have to think about who you’re putting in there,” Mayo said Monday. “And that’s kind of where we are right now.”
The offensive line has been a rotating cast of characters, with eight combinations of 11 linemen starting at some point this season. The NFL record for most offensive linemen used in a season is 14 by the 2022 Rams.
For the fourth time in five games, Sunday’s starting offensive line included Vederian Lowe, Michael Jordan, Ben Brown, Michael Onwenu, and Jacobs.
Asked Monday whether he’d be coaching differently if he had better pieces to move around, Mayo said, “That’s a fair assessment.” He also said he expects to make lineup changes going forward.
The problem Sunday, however, was not exclusive to the offensive line. The Patriots committed 10 penalties, many of which were pre-snap penalties that Mayo said stemmed from a lack of focus. Though the coach may wish he could have substituted out every player who made a mistake, he has only so many options to fill those spots.
“That’s the hard part,” Mayo said. “It depends on the position group that you even look at, and whether we have depth at that spot or not. Well, if we don’t have depth at that spot that definitely goes into it, but it’s unacceptable by all the players.
“That’s part of the conversation, not only now, but also in the offseason: where we are, where we do have depth and where we don’t.”
Mayo isn’t looking ahead to next season in terms of personnel decisions, but he knows he and his staff, as well as the front office, will have work to do. For now, he’s focused on getting through his rookie season.
“We’re all being evaluated — coaches, players, we’re all being evaluated in these next few weeks,” Mayo said. “My message to the players is, ‘Let’s pour everything we have into this over the next couple of months and go out there and play good ball.’ ”
The ruling stands
Mayo threw a challenge flag after Jaylen Waddle caught a 19-yard pass from Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to put Miami in field goal range with just over three minutes left in the second quarter.
To Mayo, it looked like the nose of the ball touched the grass as Waddle hauled it in, but after a review, officials upheld the call on the field.
Mayo on Monday stood by his decision to challenge the call.
“It’s a huge difference,” Mayo said. “There’s a 15-yard difference if it is an incomplete pass while these guys are in field goal range.”
The Dolphins scored a touchdown four plays later and kicked a field goal on their next possession to enter halftime up, 24-0.
Locker room talk
Mayo disputed reports that the Patriots, and in particular offensive players, were in high spirits in the locker room following Sunday’s loss.
MassLive’s Mark Daniel reported that while quarterback Drake Maye and a handful of other players looked sullen after the loss, there was a lot of laughter coming from the side of the room where the offensive players got dressed.
“I didn’t get that vibe in the locker room when I broke the team down,” Mayo said. “I’m not sure I know where that report came from.
“Look, we’re disappointed. We’re all pissed off, and we all understand that we have to get better.”
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