The Patriots have dropped five consecutive games, so it’s pretty safe to say they’re doing something wrong.
New England hasn’t been on the wrong end of some tight losses, either.
It’s been pretty ugly across the board, with Ron Torbert and Adrian Hill’s officiating crews penalizing them a whopping 21 times over the last couple of weeks. The Patriots were on the receiving end of some suspect calls in that stretch, but penalties as a whole are starting to become a sticking point.
“The common denominator has just been a lack of focus,” Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters Wednesday, per team-provided video. “We’re in the middle of the season now, so to have a penalty on the first play of the game is unacceptable. It’s just a lack of focus.”
Unacceptable, for certain.
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“We already have zero tolerance. We don’t want it. We don’t need it,” Patriots defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr. echoed, per Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston. “… We tell the guys, we have to eliminate it.”
New England has plenty to clean up entering their matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, and will even make some personnel changes to possibly help get back into the win column.
Featured image via Gregory Fisher/Imagn Images
