12 reasons why the 2024 Patriots season turned into a disaster

Patriots

Several factors — some due to Jerod Mayo and others out of the first-year coach’s control — led to disaster in 2024.

COMMENTARY

The 2024 Patriots season came to a merciful end on Sunday afternoon at a chilly Gillette Stadium.

The promise showcased by rookie QB Drake Maye, his ascension as a budding star, and Christian Gonzalez’s lockdown defense were silver linings in an otherwise disastrous campaign for a once-proud NFL franchise.

New England closed out its latest campaign with a 4-13 record — with the Patriots making the call to fire Jerod Mayo just an hour after his players left the field for the final time this season. 

It was the ugliest season of football in recent memory for Patriots fans — with a regressing defense, poor coaching, brutal crunch-time management, off-the-field drama, and an ugly offseason compounding 18 weeks of misery in Foxborough. 

Here are 12 reasons why Jerod Mayo and the Patriots bottomed out in 2024 — costing the former his job after one year as a head coach. 

Kraft turns aside coaching search in favor of Jerod Mayo

The Patriots had an unenviable task in front of them this offseason when it came to both righting the ship after a four-win 2023 campaign — and replacing the greatest coach in NFL history in Bill Belichick.

The only issue, of course, is that Robert Kraft and New England’s top brass didn’t open a seismic offseason by conducting a full overhaul of their coaching and front-office staff.

Rather, New England opted to promote Jerod Mayo as head coach just a day after parting ways with Belichick — elevating the 38-year old Mayo despite never holding a coordinator role on Belichick’s staff.

“I just went with my instinct, and the only time I didn’t was Bill Belichick in ’96 after I saw what went on, I didn’t hire him,” Kraft said during Mayo’s introductory press conference. “I made another hire. I didn’t hire him. My instinct was to do it, but because of his loyalty to a man we had such difficulty with who did a great job, but he took another job when we were going to the Super Bowl, and I just couldn’t bring someone in — because trust is so important.

“But as I watched what happened when he was with his next team, I realized I made a mistake,” Kraft added. “I should have gone with my instincts in ’96, and I hired Bill. That worked out pretty well. Well, I have the same feeling now having watched Jerod for 16 years in a lot of different situations.”

Kraft’s decision to put a succession plan into Mayo’s contract, coupled with Kraft’s braggadocious claims that he decided on hiring Mayo five years ago, aged poorly. 

Failing to add talent during the offseason

Despite Mayo’s claim that the Patriots were poised to “burn some cash” ahead of the offseason, de-facto GM Eliot Wolf did little to significantly upgrade New England’s flawed roster despite having plenty of cap space available. 

Wolf’s plans to “weaponize” the offense did not lead to any headline-stealing developments, despite the team’s efforts to sign Calvin Ridley in free agency or trade for Brandon Aiyuk. 

Bringing in Antonio Gibson and Austin Hooper were solid pick-ups, but was not enough to significantly move the needle on offense — while K.J. Osborn (seven catches, 57 yards) was a complete bust. 

Wolf’s inability to bolster the offensive line was also a major miscue, especially with several tackles on the free agent market. New England brought in Chukwuma Okorafor (who primarily played right tackle with the Steelers) to play left tackle in 2024 — with the veteran only playing 12 total snaps before leaving the team in early September. 

Okorafor’s early exit led to a brutal revolving door at the tackle position, elevating Vederian Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs into starting roles. 

Despite entering free agency with over $100 million in cap space, New England still had $54.1 million in space by early April, per Over The Cap.

“That was a rookie mistake. That was a rookie mistake by me,” Mayo said in April of his burning cash comment. “As soon as I got downstairs, [Patriots vice president of communications Stacey James] slapped me in the head, like, ‘What are you doing?’

“You understand what I meant, though. What I really meant, though, is we’re going to be, obviously, smart with cash and smart with acquisitions. I was just very excited. At the same time, I feel like we’re building the roster the way we want to build it.”

A brutal draft haul

The good news? The Patriots found their QB of the future in Drake Maye. 

The bad news? New England’s other seven picks in the 2024 NFL Draft were not exactly home runs. 

Wolf’s decision to trade the No. 34 pick (which the Chargers used to draft WR Ladd McConkey) has quickly turned into a disaster. 

As a result of that pick swap, Los Angeles added a dynamic slot receiver in McConkey who reeled in 82 catches for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns, as well as a ball-hawking cornerback in Tarheeb Still (four interceptions).

The Patriots used those picks to bring in Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker — who combined for just 13 catches, 99 yards and two touchdowns all season long. 

Add in mixed returns for offensive linemen in Caedan Wallace and Layden Robinson, and New England doesn’t exactly have a young core in place beyond Maye and Christian Gonzalez. 

A porous offensive line

As was the case in 2023, New England’s struggles in pass protection and blocking gave the team’s offense a shaky foundation all season long.

As a result of Okorafor’s early exit, New England routinely rolled out arguably the worst starting tackle duo between Lowe and Jacobs. In total, the Patriots finished the season with 12 different starting offensive linemen. 

That lack of continuity at the line of scrimmage coupled with outright porous play routinely kept New England’s offense stuck in neutral. While Maye’s ability to maneuver and run outside the pocket bailed out several of the team’s drives, Jacoby Brissett was regularly put under siege — while New England’s run game was regularly stuck in the mud due to poor blocking. 

Despite appearing in 15 games, Rhamondre Stevenson averaged a career-low 3.9 yards per carry. 

New England allowed 52 sacks this season — the fifth-most in the NFL, and the most sacks allowed in New England over one year since 1999. 

As noted by ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the Patriots ranked last in the NFL in pass block win rate (50.8%) this season, according to ESPN Analytics. They also ranked last in run block win rate (67.6%).

The injury bug

While the Patriots were seriously short on talent all across the depth chart, New England was also hampered by several major injuries to several key playmakers. 

The loss of linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley to a torn pectoral muscle in Week 2 was devastating, considering Bentley usually wears the green dot as the primary defensive play-caller and has been a force against the run. 

New England also lost arguably its second-best defensive player behind Gonzalez in defensive tackle Christian Barmore — who was limited to just four games due to a blood-clot issue. Barmore was placed back on the non-football illness list in December due to “recurring symptoms” from his blood-clot issues.

The loss of David Andrews after just four games due to a shoulder injury further hampered an already shorthanded offensive line.

A regressing defense

The writing was on the wall that New England’s offense — especially its offensive line — would be a work in progress. 

But few expected New England’s defense to take a significant step back under Mayo and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington. 

Even with the injuries to Bentley, Barmore, and a trade involving Matthew Judon, the Patriots completely bottomed out on the defensive side of the ball.

New England ranked 22nd in points allowed per game (24.5) this season, giving up 47 total touchdowns after relinquishing 38 in 2023. 

Entering Sunday’s Week 18 snoozer against the Bills backups, New England’s red-zone defense ranked 24th in touchdown percentage (61.8%) after finishing fifth last season (46.1%).

An inability to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks hindered New England all season long, with the Patriots finishing dead-last in the league with just 28 sacks on the season. The Patriots were also tied with the Browns for the second-lowest mark in the league with just 0.7 takeaways per game. 

A dearth of weapons

Even if Drake Maye showed this season that he looked like the real deal under center, the rookie had little to work with when it came to passing targets in 2024.

Even in the rare instances where he was able to avoid pass rushers, his most-dependable target all season long was veteran  Hunter Henry (66 catches, 674 yards). 

DeMario Douglas finished with the most receiving yards among wideouts this season with 621 — while Kayshon Boutte’s 117 receiving yards in Week 18 was the first time a Patriots WR recorded 100-plus yards in a game since Kendrick Bourne in Week 16 of the 2022 NFL season. The last time a Patriots wideout posted 1,000 yards in a single season was Julian Edelman in 2019. 

With New England’s offense slowed down by limited playmakers and a dreadful offensive line, the Patriots entered Week 18 ranked 30th in scoring (16.6 points per game), 30th in red zone offense, and 29th in third down offense.

Had it not been for Maye, an already arduous season would have been far worse for New England.

Fumbles with the media

The Patriots were already a tough watch on the field in 2024.

But Mayo also had several instances in which his candid — and ill-advised — remarks to the media led to several distractions and narratives that lingered over an already difficult season.

Mayo walking back his “burn some cash” comment was the first of many times where the first-year head coach had to do damage control after taking questions from the press. 

There was Mayo’s mixed messaging in the preseason when he proclaimed that Drake Maye had “outplayed” Jacoby Brissett during preseason action — only to then roll with the veteran through the first few weeks of regular-season action. 

Mayo also had to walk back his comments after stating that he had a “soft football team” following an ugly loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London during Week 7. 

He further sowed discourse over the dysfunction potentially brewing in New England’s chain of command when he seemingly threw offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt under the bus after a road loss to Arizona in December. 

“You said it, I didn’t,” Mayo said when asked when the Patriots didn’t dial up a QB sneak for a mobile QB like Maye. 

His follow-up to the media the next morning? 

“I know there’s a lot of chatter about the question last night, ‘You said that,’” Mayo said. “I didn’t mean anything by that. It was more of a defensive response and, ultimately, I tried to clarify that with the follow-up question. Because ultimately all of those decisions are mine. So just wanted to get that out there.”

Even seemingly smaller missteps like saying that Antonio Gibson was starting Week 17 against the Chargers after another fumble-heavy performance the previous week from Rhamondre Stevenson — only to start Stevenson anyway — highlighted Mayo’s miscues in messaging. 

Off-the-field distractions

Mayo was not the only one who regularly made all the wrong headlines when it came to mistakes away from the field.

Much like their head coach, the Patriots’ roster had a knack for saying all the wrong things when a microphone was put in front of them.

A few of the highlights include: 

“I’m not dealing with [any] mental problems at all. No mental problems,” Ja’Lynn Polk when asked about his trend of dropping passes during his rookie season: “I believe I have the best hands in the league. So, I feel like my drops, that’s not an issue at all.”

“The fans, I appreciate them at times, but sometimes they just have to know their place and just understand that it’s a work in progress. Rome wasn’t built in one day.” – Jahlani Tavai on WEEI about fans booing the Patriots and calling for Jerod Mayo to be fired. 

“One of our other coaches came to me and said, ‘Marcus is trying to get ahold of you.’ … “That was the first time it had come to my attention that he had played offensive plays,” – Alex Van Pelt on finding out CB Marcus Jones can play offense. 

“We just all got to be on the same page. We got guys — you know, just being honest — we got guys, some guys being kind of selfish.” – Davon Godchaux on WEEI after the Patriots’ loss to the 49ers. 

“To speak for myself, I’ve seen a lot of stuff out there. It feels like a lot of guys start giving up when things get hard.” – Defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale to the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan after the 40-7 loss to the Chargers. 

The Patriots’ usually tight-run ship also sprung leaks with other off-the-field incidents. 

There was Matthew Judon leaving training camp amid his contract dispute, Javon Baker’s Instagram Live after getting into a shouting match with law enforcement at Logan Airport, as well as Baker reportedly missing curfew in London. 

Things hit a new low when team captain Jabrill Peppers was arrested in October and charged with assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation, and possession of a class “B” substance.

Blowouts and nail-biting losses

The Patriots were an unpredictable mess when it came to setting expectations with each new game.

While New England finished with a 3-6 record in one-score games, there were multiple occasions in which New England couldn’t seal the deal in crunch time — including a pair of overtime losses to the Seahawks and Titans, as well as a 25-24 loss to the Colts.

While one could spin that record as the sign of a rebuilding team that is still trying to learn how to execute in close games, New England was also 1-7 in games decided by multiple scores — including six losses by at least 16 points.

A blowout loss to the Chargers in Week 17 might have been rock bottom, but it was far from an outlier.

Growing pains on the coaching staff

Another major misstep for the Patriots’ top brass was surrounding a rookie head coach — with no play-calling experience — with a coaching staff also littered with newcomers or personnel punching above their weight when it came to responsibilities. 

While Van Pelt’s mentorship of QBs like Maye and Joe Milton paid dividends, his play calling at times was far too conservative for a team elevated by Maye’s contributions as the year went on. On the other side of the ball, Covington and an inexperienced defensive staff seemingly had no answers for a regressing roster. 

Mayo was also prone to multiple instances in which he turned down aggressive plays on fourth-down and other critical situations. 

There was New England’s OT loss to the Titans, with Maye’s miraculous last-second scramble and touchdown throw to Stevenson giving his team life at the end of the game. 

Rather than go for a two-point conversion to try and win the game outright, Mayo and the Patriots opted for the PAT and overtime — only to lose in the extra frame after coughing up a field goal and Maye ending his drive with a costly interception.

In New England’s 25-24 loss to the Colts, New England opted for an absurd 68-yard field goal — something that had never been accomplished before — instead of going for a Hail Mary. When asked why he didn’t call a timeout during the Colts’ game-winning drive in the fourth quarter, Mayo stressed the Patriots “won a Super Bowl here doing it the other way” when it came to timeout usage. 

There was not running out the clock at the end of the first half against the Seahawks in Week 2, allowing the Seahawks to march down the field and kick a field goal before halftime in what ended up being an overtime loss. 

And there was New England — staring at a 4th-and-2 from the Rams’ 2-yard line and trailing by 11 in the third quarter — opting for a field goal in an eventual 28-22 loss.

“I’m always coaching to win,” Mayo said after the loss to the Rams. “Look, every decision that I make won’t always be the popular one, and that’s part of this job.”

An ugly final month

In late December, NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that Mayo’s job was safe going into 2025 — but doled out a few qualifiers.

“The Krafts want to keep Jerod Mayo,” Rapoport said. “They believe he is the leader for the organization for the future, and they knew it would be a multi-year process to get this thing right.

“Now if things go off the rails, if they really start to struggle and he loses the locker room the last couple games of the season, we’ve seen this thing turn. But as of now, the Patriots believe Jerod Mayo is their leader for the future.”

Fair to say, things have derailed down the home stretch for New England.

After dropping a one-point loss to the Colts on Dec. 1, New England came out of the bye week with a sluggish 30-17 road loss to the Cardinals — with Mayo running into more trouble postgame with his perceived shot at Van Pelt.

While some of the pressure against Mayo and his staff were seemingly alleviated by a close 24-21 loss to the Bills on the road in Week 16, that goodwill dissipated the following week when New England was embarrassed at Gillette Stadium in a 40-7 blowout loss to the Chargers — prompting cheers of “Fire Mayo” to erupt from the stands.

New England’s inability to retain the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft by beating the Bills’ backups on Sunday was the cherry on top.

Less than 40 minutes after Mayo fielded his final question from the podium at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, he was out of a job.