Patriots Players Turning on Each Other in Locker Room After 6th Straight Loss
By Jovan Alford
The New England Patriots aren’t in a good spot after dropping their sixth consecutive game on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jags dominated the Patriots on both sides of the ball, leading to head coach Jerod Mayo saying in his postgame press conference that New England was a soft football team. To make matters worse, a couple of players posted cryptic messages on social media expressing their thoughts and frustrations.
In the Pats’ locker room, veteran defensive lineman Danie Ekuale and wide receiver Kendrick Bourne didn’t mince their words about how they played on Sunday.
"Jerod just said everybody’s gotta check their egos when they come in. And I agree with him," Ekuale said (h/t Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald). "I feel like a lot of guys think too highly of themselves, and have to check their egos and come in and just play as a team."
That’s a damning statement from the 30-year-old defensive lineman as it's only Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season. When you look at the successful teams around the NFL, they play together and sacrifice their needs for the greater good.
Meanwhile, Bourne had a different perspective from Ekuale but harped on the team’s energy, or lack thereof in the double-digit loss.
"The energy could’ve been better, a lot better. We’ve got to find ways from within to fight adversity," the veteran wideout said. "We know we’re going to play at 9:30. Through the week, we need to understand that."
"That’s (making) personal decisions. Rather than staying up all night, or eating whatever," Bourne continued. "Whatever it is, whatever makes us be better, we have to make those decisions to be better so when we get (to the game), we can be better."
If you are a Pats fan, this isn’t what you want to see or hear as the season spirals out of control. That said, New England can change the narrative about itself next Sunday against the two-win New York Jets. We’ll see if the players will take what their head coach and teammates have said to heart and fix their mentality.
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