The New England Patriots put together another disappointing performance in their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, and one veteran player seems to feel his teammates did not take the game seriously enough.
Veteran wide receiver Kendrick Bourne spoke with Mark Daniels of MassLive.com on Thursday about the Patriots’ poor showing in London. Bourne said the way some of his teammates carried themselves overseas reminded him of when he played for the San Francisco 49ers in 2019.
The Niners made it to Super Bowl LIV that season. They jumped out to a big lead over the Kansas City Chiefs before being outscored 21-0 in the fourth quarter to lose 31-20. Bourne said some of his former teammates were “going out all week” and may have overindulged in the Miami nightlife. He saw the same from some Patriots players in London.
“We made these decisions and we go to the football game and we lose. Not that, that’s the reason we lost, but the decisions we make during the week to get ready, to get locked in, and focus effect our end result,” Bourne said. “So going out overseas, we have to be locked in. I’m not trying to point nobody out, but it’s just we have to focus on what matters. You can go out, but what really matters while we’re here?”
Bourne doubled down when asked what the Patriots have to do to shift their mentality.
“That’s (making) personal decisions,” he said. “Rather than staying up all night, or eating whatever.”
The Patriots have now lost six straight games after their surprising road win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1. There has been some talk that head coach Jerod Mayo could be on the hot seat in just his first season on the job.
Mayo has faced some criticism for the way he called out his players following the loss to Jacksonville. Losing games is one thing. If the losing leads to in-fighting, that will reflect poorly on the head coach.
