The New England Patriots face an interesting dilemma as they prepare for Sunday’s season finale.
Lose at home to the Buffalo Bills, and the Patriots (3-13) secure the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.
On paper, that would seem almost a certainty. New England is riding a six-game losing streak, with last Saturday’s 40-7 rout at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers the new low-water mark in coach Jerod Mayo’s first season.
The issue is that Buffalo (13-3) is locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and may rest many of its stars with nothing to gain from winning on Sunday.
Mayo said the Patriots are “100 percent focused on beating the Buffalo Bills,” and that securing the No. 1 draft pick isn’t his priority. So, if rookie quarterback Drake Maye and other key personnel are healthy, he expects his team to take the field with the intent of closing out the season with a victory.
“That’s what we have to do,” Mayo said on Monday. “My expectation is if the guys are healthy, then they’re expected to be ready to go out there and play. Again, we’ll have to see how the week goes. I understand the question. The guys are working hard and we need to play football.”
Mayo said he knew his first season at the helm in New England would be a challenge, but also pointed to the eight one-score games the Patriots have lost.
Pass rusher Keion White is among multiple players who have questioned the team’s direction under the current coaching staff, but Mayo said he believes his team has continued to play hard — it’s just a lack of execution that continues to hold the Patriots back.
“It seems like we’ve been in the storm for a long time. I think the players as a whole, I would say they’ve come into work every day during a difficult season. I think that’s been a huge piece of the puzzle,” Mayo said. “Hopefully we can keep that going forward. We had eight one-score games this year. We just got to, honestly, we have to win those games. That’s what the NFL is. That’s going to be the goal going forward.”
Asked whether he has been assured by owner Robert Kraft that he will return for a second season, Mayo did not address the question directly.
“I’m always in constant communication with ownership, and I feel like we’re still on the same page,” he said.
–Field Level Media
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