Watch: Robert Kraft gave Jerod Mayo the game ball following Patriots’ Week 1 win

"We're just getting started."

Jerod Mayo got his head coaching career off to a winning start as the Patriots pulled off an upset on the road against the Bengals.

The 16-10 Week 1 win was orchestrated in a way that exemplified what Mayo, a former linebacker, stood for during his playing career. New England’s defense held the favored Cincinnati offense scoreless until the third quarter, and the offense churned out 170 yards on the ground.

In the postgame locker room scene, an excited Robert Kraft stopped by to present the 38-year-old Mayo with a special present: The game ball.

“Every one of you contributed,” Kraft told the locker room. “I am so proud of the new players, the new coaches. People had all the excuses [that] it couldn’t happen, but you all did it.

“I’m spoiled now,” Kraft added. “I’m going to count on a lot more.”

“We’re just getting started,” said Mayo in response.

Patriots players also had their moment to celebrate with the new coach on the sidelines, getting Mayo with the classic Gatorade dunk:

Mayo is technically already off to a better start than his predecessor, Bill Belichick, who took a month to get his first Patriots win in the 2000 season (starting the year 0-4). Belichick also lost his first game during his first head coaching stint with the Browns in 1991.

Of course Mayo still has a ways to go to achieve Belichick’s eventual success in New England. The next hurdle for the Patriots comes at home against the Seahawks in Week 2 on Sept. 15.