After an encouraging all-around showing by the Patriots coaching staff in Chicago, Jerod Mayo and company laid an egg in Week 11.
New England’s staff made a series of questionable decisions in a 28-22 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at Gillette Stadium. From very conservative offensive play calls to a head-scratching approach to pass coverage, Patriots coaches did not put their players in the best position to succeed Sunday.
Bill Simmons called New England’s latest coaching performance “deplorable.” The Ringer founder and diehard Boston sports fan also offered a theory about Mayo and his assistants’ curious decisions.
“The Pats coaching today would only make sense if we find out after the season that (Robert) Kraft ordered them to tank games starting now,” Simmons posted to X.
It probably isn’t a coincidence that New England’s three wins to date were in games where there wasn’t a significant gap in coaching. You don’t need to be the second coming of Vince Lombardi to go toe-to-toe with Zac Taylor, Jeff Ulbrich and Matt Eberflus.
On the flip side, the Patriots were dealt a loss in every contest where the opposing sideline had a clear-cut better coach. So while New England players have been challenged to develop and progress as the franchise builds toward the future, the same task should be placed on Mayo and company.
