The Jerod Mayo era gets off to a winning start in New England. Even Bill Belichick couldn’t do that

Jerod Mayo picked up a victory in his first game as a head coach, something Bill Belichick wasn’t able to do in his debut with either the New England Patriots or the Cleveland Browns.

The former Patriots linebacker began his tenure replacing the future Hall of Famer on the New England sideline with a 16-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Team owner Robert Kraft presented Mayo with the game ball afterward, and the coach said, “We’re just getting started.”

Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 120 yards and a first-quarter touchdown, Kyle Duggar had a touchdown-saving forced fumble and Joey Slye kicked three field goals for the new-look Patriots in their first regular-season game since firing Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl champion, after a 4-13 season and beginning their rebuild under Mayo, a first-time head coach.

What’s working

The offense did just enough under Jacoby Brissett, a nine-year veteran chosen to start over No. 3 overall draft pick Drake Maye. Brissett, who is in his second stint in New England, completed 15 of 24 passes for 121 yards, and he ran seven times for 32 yards.

“He made plays with his arm, he made plays with his legs,” Mayo said. “He did everything we asked him to.”

Brissett led the Patriots on a 14-play, 80-yard drive in the second quarter that led to their only touchdown. More importantly, he led them on a pair of drives that ate up most of the fourth quarter.

What needs help

The Patriots didn’t need Brissett to air it out, but the passing game was mostly absent from the opener. The Patriots tried only one long pass, and it was incomplete. The longest pass play was a short toss to Tyquan Thornton that went for 17 yards.

Stock up

Stevenson, one of the few statistical bright spots returning from last season, had the kind of game that gives the Patriots a chance when their passing game isn’t strong. He ran 25 times for 120 yards, an average of 4.8 yards per carry, for his first 100-yard game since 2022. He scored the Patriots’ only touchdown, on a 3-yard run to start the second quarter.

With New England nursing a lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, he ran four straight plays, picking up 26 yards and a pair of first downs to make it possible to run out the clock.

“We said before the game: ‘It’s going to be a certain point in the game where we’re just going to overpower them. We’re going to out-condition them and do all the little things right more than them, because of all the work that we put in,’” Brissett said. “And I think that was on display.

“Everybody in the stands knew we were running the ball at the end of the game. And we still get first down after first down.”

Stock down

If Patriots fans were hoping that Brissett would stumble and make room for first-round draft pick Maye, it could be a while.

“How many plays did he (Brissett) make yesterday with his legs? And from a defensive perspective you don’t really expect it,” Mayo said Monday. “Jacoby did a good job controlling the game, not making mistakes, we won the turnover battle, we won the hidden yardage battle, and that’s what I’m talking about.”

Key numbers

2, 5 – How many tries it took Belichick to win his first game with the Browns and the Patriots.

The Patriots host Seattle on Sunday in Mayo’s home debut.

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