Jerod Mayo Sends Threat to NFL Teams After Patriots' Week 1 Win

The New England Patriots had one of the more shocking wins in Week 1 Sunday as they went on the road and beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 16-10. The Patriots’ defense held Joe Burrow and Cincinnati’s passing game in check, while Rhamondre Stevenson crushed the Bengals’ defense for 120 rushing yards and a touchdown.

It was an impressive performance from a New England team that no one knew what to expect in Week 1. After securing his first win as Patriots head coach, Jerod Mayo sent the rest of the league a message about what to expect from his squad every week.

“We will always, always, offensively, be a run-first team,” Mayo said (h/t Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald). “And you've gotta stop it. And if you do, then we have answers after that. It's not a secret.”

Usually, most coaches aren’t going to be direct about their game plans, but Mayo believes in his guys and what they are capable of doing. The run-first methodology paid off on Sunday as the Bengals had no answers for Rhamondre Stevenson.

The veteran running back had his first 100-yard rushing performance since Week 15 of the 2022 season against the Las Vegas Raiders (19 carries for 172 yards and a touchdown). 

If you are Mayo and the rest of the Patriots’ offensive coaching staff, this was great to see from Stevenson, especially behind an offensive line that had a lot of questions surrounding them in the preseason.

That being said, the test for New England will be to prove that they can have the same success next week against the Seattle Seahawks at Gillette Stadium. On Sunday, the Seahawks defense held the Broncos’ rushing attack to 99 yards, with rookie quarterback Bo Nix being the team’s leading rusher (35 yards).

It won’t be an easy task for the Patriots. But if they can find some consistency on the ground next week, it will help open the passing game for starting QB Jacoby Brissett and the wide receivers.

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