Jerod Mayo Knows Patriots Must Change This Passing Approach

The New England Patriots scored 20 points on Sunday but failed to effectively make big plays in the passing game in a 23-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Gillette Stadium.

Hunter Henry took over as the tight end accounted for 109 of Jacoby Brissett’s 149 passing yards. That left just 40 receiving yards for the Patriots elsewhere. Ja’Lynn Polk, who scored his first NFL touchdown, and K.J. Osborn were the only two New England wide receivers to haul in a pass as the Patriots heavily relied on the ground game and a boosted effort from running back Antonio Gibson.

Head coach Jerod Mayo knows that style of offense has to change with the Patriots searching for more explosiveness in the passing game.

“We definitely have to start to get the ball down the field,” Mayo told reporters, per team-provided video. “We gotta start pushing the ball down the field.”

Mayo also followed up on a question about second-year receiver Demario Douglas, who has not been heavily involved in the offense and did not have a catch on Sunday, and confirmed that’s a playmaker the Patriots must prioritize.

“We gotta be able to run, we gotta be able to pass,” Mayo added. “We gotta be able to ping pong between the two. It’s something we need to work on.”

The Patriots will quickly have a chance to create a spark in the passing game when they start Week 3 on Thursday night against the New York Jets.