The New England Patriots’ 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday led coach Jerod Mayo to call the team “soft,” but Bill Belichick doesn’t necessarily share the same view.
The Pats gave up 171 rushing yards to the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London as well as a 96-yard punt return for a touchdown in Drake Maye’s second start of the season. It was a pleasantly memorable game—for the Jags, that is—with Maye struggling to keep up with Jacksonville’s efficient offense.
Belichick joined The Pat McAfee Show on Monday to discuss his thoughts on Mayo’s recent critical comments about the Patriots and explained why he felt “hurt” for some members of the Pats’ defense.
“Defensively, the Patriots led the league last year in rushing defense, yards per carry, No. 1 in the league,” Belichick said. “This year, they’re way down in the 20s somewhere. It’s the same guys… You got (Deatrich) Wise, you got (Davon) Godchaux, you got Keion White, you got (Marte) Mapu, you got (Christian) Gonzalez, it’s a lot of the same players and in some cases I would say more. I’m kind of hurt for those guys because to call them soft, they’re not soft.
“They were the best team in the league last year against the run. Those guys went out there and did it even though we couldn’t score many points offensively. So I feel bad for the defensive players because those guys, that’s a tough group.”
"The Patriots led the league in rushing defense last year and they still have a lot of those players..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 21, 2024
I'm hurt for those guys because they're not soft..
I feel bad for the defensive players because they're all tough players" ~ Bill Belichick #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/wVN9ufcNMg
Belichick briefly added that he thought Maye did “some great things” on the offense and was looking forward to seeing how the rookie quarterback developed this season.
Belichick’s passionate defense of his former players came after Mayo ripped into the Patriots following their sixth straight defeat on Sunday.
“We’re a soft football team across the board,” Mayo said. “We talk about what makes a tough football team, and that's being able to run the ball, being able to stop the run and that’s being able to cover kicks. We did none of those.”
The Patriots will look to end their losing streak against the New York Jets in Week 8.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bill Belichick Had Impassioned Response to Jerod Mayo Calling Patriots 'Soft'.
