Jerod Mayo issues ‘wake-up call’, plans on making changes to Patriots starting lineup

"The common denominator has just been a lack of focus."

FOXBOROUGH — After dropping a fifth straight game last week, changes are coming for the Patriots ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Jaguars in London.

Speaking ahead of practice on Wednesday, Jerod Mayo stressed that several areas of New England’s roster have been put on notice following more lapses in execution during the team’s Week 6 loss to the Texans.

“I will say this, there will be changes for this game,” Mayo said. “My message for the coaches and the players, really, we want our most dependable players out there that we can really count on. If you’re going to pre-snap, post-snap penalties, we can’t live that way. It’s the personnel part of it – like a wake-up call.”

Penalties have been an issue for New England over the last two weeks, with the Patriots whistled 21 times over their last two games. Given the already slim margin of error afforded to a rebuilding roster, Mayo stressed that the team can’t continue to shoot itself in the foot by drawing flags throughout a game.

“The common denominator has just been a lack of focus,” Mayo said. “We’re in the middle of the season now, so to have a penalty on the first play of the game is unacceptable. It’s just a lack of focus.”

But discipline is far from the only issue plaguing the 1-5 Patriots at this juncture of the 2024 NFL season. Even though New England’s offense took steps forward with Drake Maye taking over as QB1, the defense has regressed over the last few weeks.

The Texans torched New England’s defense on Sunday, closing out the 41-21 win at Gillette Stadium with 368 net yards — including 192 rushing yards.

New England’s defense has hampered by injury (Christian Barmore, Ja’Whaun Bentley), departures via trade (Matthew Judon), and off-the-field issues (Jabrill Peppers’ arrest earlier this month) over the last few months. But the personnel still in place on that side of the ball stressed that these absences are no excuse for the team’s overall performance.

“We’ve got to change that mentality,” linebacker Jahlani Tavai said. “People have been running over 100 yards on us. We’ve got to take that personally. So I take it personally, and I know the defensive guys are.

“So I know today we’re going to have a really good practice, and we’re just going to dial in on everything we’ve got to do.”

Even with Tavai pledging a response on Sunday against the Jaguars, Mayo acknowledged earlier that morning that changes to the team’s personnel are expected for Sunday’s game at Wembley Stadium.

“There definitely will be changes in the starting lineup,” Mayo said. “Look, we got to put the best guys out there that give us the best chance to win.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Mayo could shuffle things around at the linebacker position. Raekwon McMillan — elevated into a featured role following Bentley’s season-ending injury — has struggled over the last few weeks, especially when tasked with stopping the run.

“We have to be better,” Mayo said of the team’s linebacker corps. “We’re not playing at the level that we need to. Look, Bentley’s not coming back any time soon, so we need someone to step up in that role. Whether you get that from the linebacker room or the safety room, you just need to have better production out of that group.”

Mayo’s comments about roster turnover may not just be reserved for the defensive side of the ball.

Even with breakout performances last week by receivers DeMario Douglas (six catches, 92 yards, one touchdown) and Kayshon Boutte (three catches, 59 yards, one touchdown), rookie wideout Ja’Lynn Polk dropped two passes and finished with one catch for four yards.

With Mayo already taking Polk to task over the “mental hump” he’s dealt with in terms of drops, the Patriots head coach could also tweak Maye’s receiver corps before Sunday’s game on the international stage.

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.