In their surprising opening week victory at Cincinnati, the Patriots' offense was a sledgehammer, repeatedly feeding the powerful Rhamondre Stevenson to the tune of 25 carries for 120 yards. That 118 of those yards came after first contact raised a red flag for me. I wrote:
"Some of that contact is inevitable. Not every running play has every defender accounted for, and Stevenson made it a habit Sunday of running through defensive backs and their arm tackles, as he should. But my second watch of the game (via the all 22) revealed 10 runs of the 32 runs (Antonio Gibson included) with the ball carrier encountering that contact behind the line of scrimmage, as opposed to just six that I deemed clean (meaning he got past the LOS without contact). That feels unsustainable, and I'm someone who agrees that Stevenson is a top-10ish back."
A month later, after three straight lopsided losses and with a passing attack averaging just 134 yards per game, head coach Jerod Mayo agreed.
"We knew going into the season we would take our lumps, and even after the first game when we beat Cincinnati, we understood that this is unsustainable as far as winning that way," he said back on October 2.
Mayo's team had scored just one touchdown on its previous 24 offensive drives, dating back to the second half of the Seatle game and stretching through the San Francisco loss. They were having massive offensive line issues, Stevenson had a fumble in every game, and it looked bleak.
"I'm just giving you a snapshot on what we told the team," said Mayo that day. "I mean, in this league, you have to score points to go out there and win. You have to win the time of possession. You have to – those are things that you have to do. There aren't too many games you're going to win if you score under, let's just say, 21 points."
Now, let's flash forward to this morning. The Pats are coming off a 19-3 win over the Bears, in which they went old school in Chicago. And by old school, I mean week one. They rushed for 144 yards (4.1 yards per carry), delivering body blow after body blow. The real ones, not that nonsense they got credit for against the Jets (25 rushes for 55 yards with the RBs that day. Please). Seems now Mayo is embracing that.
"I would say this is – we're at this point in the season; this is who we are," he told us today. "We have to go out there, we have to control the line of scrimmage, we have to be able to run the ball, we have to stay ahead of the sticks..."
Wait a minute. Are you now telling me what wasn't sustainable is now? I asked. Here's Mayo's response:
"Yeah, it's a totally different part of the season," he responded. "When I look at that game, to go back – even last week, I went back and watched the first three games of the season and just tried to pull out the things that we did well and the things that people were attacking us on. Now, I said that weeks ago at the start of the season, and now – again, reserving the right to change my mind – we can do it. We can do it, and that's what we did last night. Hopefully, that's what we do going forward."
I politely said thank you, but Mayo continued.
"I would say just overall, just the physicality of that game compared to this game. I think that’s – when I say unsustainable back then or sustainable, whatever, it's really the physicality part of it that we need to continue to build on, which I would say is sustainable."
Mayo has preached that part of the game to us since back in the spring, but when you can't stop the run (as was the case from weeks three through nine) or can't run (weeks six through nine), it's hard for that to be your identity. Yesterday was a return to balanced football, with the Bears undoubtedly the perfect opponent based on their recent body of work. Can the Pats do that week over week? With this line, probably not. But Maye is the X-factor, capable of doing things with his arm and legs that Jacoby Brissett doesn't have in his bag (mostly).
Maye threw Austin Hooper open on that 28-yard corner route in the first quarter. Brissett's not making that throw. That set up the Pats' first points (Joey Slye's field goal). The 22-year-old slung a dart to Kayshon Boutte before the half, leading to another three points. And on the game's only touchdown drive, Maye read a levels concept and pushed the ball high to Hooper even if the safer throw, the low crosser, was open to Hunter Henry. So, instead of a 10-yard gain, he got 24, putting the Pats inside the red zone. Brissett's conservative nature wouldn't allow him to cut that throw loose. On the other hand, Maye has no qualms about letting it fly, even if sometimes it may be detrimental.
Opposing defenses have to respect Maye's talents. They did not treat Brissett the same way. So, while the Pats' running game may have been stuck in offensive mud during Maye's previous starts, this game's return to early season roots proved it is possible and that Maye can give the game what it needs, not always needing the starring role. This weekend against the Rams, that might be throwing 40 times. Or, if Mayo's right, a more balanced attack that shows this coaching staff - and this team - are learning and growing as they go. At 3-7, and with an eye toward 2025, that's an essential box to check off.