Little has gone right for the New England Patriots over the first six weeks of the 2024 regular season. While they did win their opener in Cincinnati in upset fashion, they have since failed to reach similar success en route to losing five games in a row. The issues that have plagued the team are plenty.
Near the top of the list, according to head coach Jerod Mayo, is his team’s inability to start fast — something he hopes will improve against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. “We’ve got to start games faster,” Mayo said. “We’ve got to start games faster, and that’s definitely a point of emphasis this week.
” In three of their five losses so far this season, the Patriots found themselves trailing by multiple scores rather quickly. They fell behind 14-0 against both the New York Jets in Week 3 and the Houston Texans in Week 6, and dug themselves into a 20-0 hole versus the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4. In those three games, they first scored with 3:56 left in the second quarter (Jets), 11 seconds left in the second quarter (Texans), and on the final play of the first half (49ers).
For a team like the Patriots that lacks offensive firepower and has struggled in pass protection, those deficits proved themselves too big to overcome. “We have to start faster. It’s been bad this year,” said offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
“We put a lot of time and effort into the first 15, and we haven’t gotten that done yet. So, always an emphasis to start fast a.