5 Patriots Who Deserve Most Blame for Week 5 Collapse

2. Jerod Mayo

Jerod Mayo has mostly been given the benefit of the doubt due to his inexperience – he had never even held a coordinator role prior to his succession of Bill Belichick as head coach, but that period of borderline immunity appears to be subsiding.

New England had 12 penalties for 105 yards on Sunday. One of the core tenets of the Belichick dynasty era was to sit back and allow other teams to beat themselves – which often saw undisciplined teams rack up penalty yards. Now, the Patriots have become one of those teams.

Postgame, former Patriot linebacker Ted Johnson and Patriots insiders Tom Curran and Michael Holley laid some of the responsibility for New England's lack of discipline at the feet of the coaching staff. Johnson, a three-time Super Bowl champion in New England, stated: "When you have that many penalties, it reflects poorly on the control the coaches have on your team".

After the game, Mayo acknowledged "we have to be better – we including me". Mayo has consistently held himself accountable throughout his short tenure to date as head coach, but eventually, that accountability is drowned out when words aren't translating to wins on the football field.

After reports of an impending "mutiny" in the Patriots locker room earlier in the week, Mayo's squad committed 12 penalties in an extraordinary display of a lack of discipline. This week surely could have gone better for the rookie head coach.