Patriots Players Would Not Let Jerod Mayo’s ‘Soft’ Comment Define Them

The New England Patriots had an internal motive to make a statement Sunday after head coach Jerod Mayo labeled the team “soft” following a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

They did that with a 25-22 comeback win over the New York Jets. The Patriots took the lead in the final minute of the game, showing “resilience” that sparked the appreciation of their head coach. The previous message dominated headlines but did not cause the players to lose focus.

“Nobody took it personal,” Christian Gonzalez told reporters, per team-provided video. “It’s a challenge. We came out and did what we had to do.”

“When your leader says something about you like that, you never want that to define you,” Hunter Henry said. “These guys I think responded well. I think we all responded well to what was said last week. We were able to go out there and get a win.”

The win marked the response that Mayo hoped for and gave the Patriots their first win since Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“We responded good,” Rhamondre Stevenson said.

The Patriots seek consecutive wins in Week 9 in a visit to Tennessee to face the Titans to start November.