Patriots Defender Calls Out Teammates After Embarrassing Loss

Patriots players didn’t mince words after one of their worst losses of the season Saturday.

Keion White bluntly campaigned for changes in New England after the Los Angeles Chargers rolled to a 33-point win at Gillette Stadium. Davon Godchaux, meanwhile, took aim at Patriots fans after they raucously called for Jerod Mayo’s job in Week 17.

Daniel Ekuale joined the candor parade, too, as he didn’t pull punches when he spoke about the effort level of certain players.

“I feel like towards the end of the fourth quarter, some of the guys just give up, and some guys play to the end of the whistle,” Ekuale told the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan. “To speak for myself, I’ve seen a lot of stuff out there. It feels like a lot of guys start giving up when things get hard.”

Some Patriots players certainly looked checked out as the Bolts started to open the floodgates in Foxboro, Mass. While those players obviously should be criticized, their unwillingness to play hard until the final whistle also is an indictment of the coaches.

All told, the situation in New England is an absolute mess. And if it weren’t for Drake Maye, there wouldn’t be any more promise about the Patriots’ future than there was when their miserable 2023 season ended.