Jerod Mayo says the Patriots defense let Drake Maye down in the first start

Patriots

The 41 points the Texans scored in Maye's first start are the most the Patriots have allowed since 2021.

The Texans became the first team since the 2021 Buffalo Bills to score 40 points or more against the Patriots, and Jerod Mayo expressed frustration with the performance after the game.

The Patriots committed nine penalties, including six in the first half. That number is too high, Mayo said, and it's part of the “same old story” about what the Patriots are doing wrong week in and week out.

He also mentioned that the Patriots turned the ball over four times, compared to just one turnover for the Texans.

Mayo, who coached linebackers for several years with the Patriots before being promoted to head coach, was harshly critical of his defense.

“Defensively, I would say we just need to improve the fundamentals of tackling, our running pass,” Mayo said. “You have to improve. I told all these people, 'Today you should feel like crap.' You should feel like crap.' Take away those two long runs, we (allowed) two 50-yard runs. You just don’t win football like that.”

The Patriots showed some encouraging things on offense, with rookie quarterback Drake Maye starting under center for the first time, Mayo said, but it wasn't enough.

“I thought he showed a lot of poise,” Mayo said. “I thought he went out there and controlled the group, got the guys out of the group and made some more plays.”

“It’s definitely encouraging. From a team-wide perspective, we have let him down right now. It was his first game and I feel like I let him down. I'm sure all the coaches feel like we've let everyone down. We just have to get better.”

Houston averaged 6.9 yards per run on the ground and accumulated the same number of rushing yards as passing yards (192).

Running back Joe Mixon bounced off one of his own blockers and hit a scoring corner, while Jonathan Jones tried to throw off a block from Stefon Diggs for his only touchdown of the game. Jones turned to pursue Mixon, but the running back had enough distance to run into the end zone.

Mixon also broke off a 59-yard run right up the middle, slipped past a leaping Jahlani Tavai and raced down the sideline before being tripped by Jaylinn Hawkins.

Houston's Dameon Pierce missed three Patriots defenders on his 54-yard run in the fourth quarter. Anfernee Jennings lunged at him and missed. Jaquelin Roy gave Pierce a shove, but the running back managed to stay on his feet. Safety Kyle Dugger made an unfortunate attempt at an arm tackle as Pierce sprinted past.

“Yes, it’s very disappointing,” Mayo said. “I would say that we have some ups and downs at the moment in terms of getting off to a quick start. We have to start quickly, whether in defense or attack, and we just couldn’t do that today.”

“I thought they had settled down. But again, it comes down to every single play being important, and you can stop them, stop them, stop them, and then all of a sudden it's a 50-yard run. We can’t live in this world.”

The Patriots fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter and the Texans led the rest of the way. Maye reduced the deficit to seven just before halftime, but the game spiraled out of control in the second half.

“Guys just have to take responsibility,” defensive end Godchaux said of the mistakes, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “Even if you think the game is over in, say, the third quarter, it's really just about being proud. It doesn't look like there was any pride out there. I just don't know how to win, that's what matters. Just frustrating, man.”

Texas quarterback CJ Stroud didn't miss a moment without top target Nico Collins, who missed the game after being placed on injured reserve.

Stroud completed 20-for-31 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns against one interception. Stefon Diggs led the Texans with 6 catches on 7 targets for 77 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s a great receiver. He’s been doing this for a long time,” cornerback Christian Gonzalez said. “He ran a good route for the touchdown. Such is the life of a corner. You’re going to get beat, so congratulations to him, he ran a great route and CJ did it to him and the other play just trusted my technique and went out and did that.”

Cornerback Marcus Jones had the only takeaway for the Patriots, an interception by Stroud that came after a pass tipped by Marte Mapu.

“Even though the game didn’t go the way we wanted it to, there were some great things that happened in the game that needed to be implemented on a regular basis,” Jones said. “The margin for error in the National Football League is very small and we have to make sure we come back. Anything we haven't mastered, we need to practice and make sure we get it right for next week.”

Khari A. Thompson

Sports reporter

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Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

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