JJ Watt praises New England Patriots HC

Jerod Mayo and the New England Patriots have had a tough week. After falling to 1-6 last week, the first-year head coach publicly commented on his team being “soft.”

This triggered a media hellstorm against the Patriots and Mayo personally. Former New England stars and even Bill Belichick spoke out against Mayo's comments.

Even Mayo's job status was questioned by the media. That's how bad the week got for the Patriots and their head coach.

Heading into Week 8 against the New York Jets, the only way to quiet the outside noise was to get a win. That wasn't expected, but New England managed to pull off the upset with a final score of 25-22.

After the game, NFL legend JJ Watt expressed his enthusiasm for Mayo. In a post on X, Watt Mayo acknowledged the tactics he used to motivate his team.

“Thanks to Jerod Mayo. His Patriots team responded,” Watt wrote.

Apparently the messages Mayo sent to his team were received. They seemed more motivated and worked better together than they had in the last six weeks.

Even after rookie quarterback Drake Maye was sidelined with a concussion, the team rallied around Jacoby Brissett. They looked like a completely different team.

The moral of this story is that no one knows their team better than a head coach. While the outside media and analysts felt Mayo had gone too far, his team responded to him.

It is a great credit to Mayo and the Patriots to be able to weather the media storm and still emerge confident and sharp. Mayo has quieted his doubters with the big win.

Granted, no one should expect New England to rattle off five straight wins and jump right back into the playoffs. They're still likely facing a difficult all-around season and a high draft pick. But they showed development and improvement.

The Patriots just want to get better for the rest of the season. If they get back into the playoffs next season or the year after that, they would be more than happy with that.

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