Bears’ Thanksgiving meltdown caused Jerod Mayo to discuss late-game scenario with Patriots assistant
Chicago fired Matt Eberflus on Friday following his team's clock mismanagement in the final 30 seconds of its loss to Detroit.
The Patriots didn’t have practice on Thanksgiving, allowing them to spend time with family and loved ones. It also gave Jerod Mayo an opportunity to consider how he’d handle a key end-of-game situation.
Mayo shared Friday that he called up Patriots director of game management Evan Rothstein to discuss the ending to the Bears-Lions game, where Chicago mismanaged the final 30 seconds in the 23-20 loss.
“As that game went on, I actually called and we were just talking through that situation. It was great. Great conversation,” Mayo told reporters. “Oftentimes it’s easy to second guess and look back on those decisions that are made and say, ‘Well, that’s crazy.’ For me, it’s just another opportunity to be a better head football coach.”
After taking a sack on second down to put the Bears at the Lions’ 41-yard line with 36 seconds left, Caleb Williams and Chicago’s offense weren’t quick to snap the ball. While they had one timeout left, the Bears let the clock run down to six seconds before snapping it. Williams took a deep shot that felt incomplete, but the clock ran out and they didn’t have the opportunity to kick a game-tying field goal.
The Bears were widely criticized for how they handled the final moments, with head coach Matt Eberflus seeming to receive the brunt of the blame. Chicago fired Eberflus on Friday. Mayo is hoping that he won’t make the same mistake if he was in that position, especially after discussing the matter with Rothstein.
“I called him right after that, like, ‘Man,'” Mayo said. “I’m not going to get into that whole world. I probably would have handled it a little bit differently. Again, easy for me to say just sitting right here.”
Mayo has received some scrutiny for his game management in his first season as the Patriots head coach. For instance, he was criticized for not going for two to try to win the game against the Titans following Drake Maye’s touchdown pass when time expired. Mayo’s predecessor, Bill Belichick, also called out the team’s time mismanagement during their loss against the Seahawks in September.
Rothstein, who’s in his fourth season with the Patriots, is meant to help Mayo with some of those key in-game decisions. After spending the last two seasons as an offensive assistant, Rothstein began his new role as the team’s director of game management while continuing his duties as assistant quarterbacks coach.
Mayo was asked if Rothstein’s duties are similar to what Ernie Adams did in his 21 seasons as the Patriots football research director while working alongside Belichick.
“I don’t want to get into comparisons, but we spend a lot of time talking about situational football and things like that,” Mayo explained. “As a head coach on the field, there’s a lot going on, whether it’s people talking to you through your headset and all that stuff.
“I think it’s good that you have a separate channel where it’s just the two of us on there really discussing, staying ahead of the game, talking about different situations and how to approach those.”
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