On to Seattle: Patriots look ahead to home opener

In 2014, after an embarrassing 41-14 blowout loss on the road to a mediocre Chiefs team, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick created a now iconic refrain during his postgame press conference:

“We’re on to Cincinnati,” he said over and over again, regardless of whether or not that answer made sense for the various questions about the loss.

It was his way of saying, “That loss was brutal. No sense in focusing on it. It’s time to turn the page towards next week.”

The on-to-Cincy mantra worked, as his team throttled a talented Bengals team one week later, beating Cincinnati 43-17 at Gillette Stadium.

From that point forward, the 2014 Patriots were a wagon, and that wagon rolled all the way to a Super Bowl XLIX win.

It was the franchise’s fourth Lombardi Trophy, and the start of what became the team’s second dynastic run of the millennium.

Ten years later, Cincinnati is, yet again, a jumping off point for New England. But this time around, it’s for very different reasons.

In 2014, the Bengals signified an opponent that was on-par with the Patriots. To beat that team the way they did, it was a reminder to both the league and the locker room that New England was much better than their 2-2 record showed, and were capable of doing big things.

In 2024, the Bengals signified an opponent that was supposed to be much better than New England, as the Patriots went into that game as one of the largest underdogs in the league for Week 1.

Point spreads and pontifications be damned, New England came away with a shocking 16-10 win on the road , and is 1-0 heading into their home opener on Sunday.

It’s time to put their massive upset behind them, channel their inner Belichick, and say, “We’re on to Seattle.”

Whether that phrase is being used at 1 Patriot Place or not, that sentiment was felt at the podium on Wednesday before the Patriots took the practice field in preparation for Sunday’s home opener against the Seahawks.

“From an individual perspective, the biggest jump you should see out of your players is from year one to year two, or Week 1 to Week 2,” said Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo. “And I would say this week, you know, not to look back at Cincinnati, but there are a lot of plays that we left out there. And I think the players recognize that.

“Now it’s the time for those guys to gel. And we as coaches expect them to do that. And I did let them know, you know, what got us the win in Week 1 won’t get us the win in Week 2 if we don’t continue to improve.”

Mayo spoke highly of both the talent on Seattle’s roster, as well as the scheme they employ on defense, pointing out that rookie head coach Mike Macdonald has brought over defensive concepts that were staples of his highly-rated Baltimore Ravens defense over the last two seasons - specifically mentioning their zone blitzing and ability to take away the deep ball.

But the bulk of Mayo’s roses on Wednesday went to 24-year-old running back Kenneth Walker III, who dominated the Broncos in Week 1 with 103 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

He said, “Most of the time, we always talk about the quarterback first and foremost, which they have an experienced quarterback. What I would say is just the run game - I think Kenneth, he doesn’t get a lot of hype. I don’t know what his Madden rating is or anything like that. But when you turn on the film, like, this guy pops up!

“He’s a very aggressive runner. He can do it all.”

It’s clear that Mayo has an affinity for Walker, as he’s not just praising him at the podium.

“Jerod really loves him - he was talking about it in team meetings today,” veteran defensive tackle Davon Godchaux said with a laugh.

“He’s very good between the tackles. He can run outside. You know, doesn’t really have a lot of tackles. He’s just a very physical back. You know, this guy’s one of the most underrated backs in the league.”

Walker and the Seahawks present yet another difficult home opener opponent for New England, who has not won their first game at Gillette Stadium since 2020 - a 21-11 win over Miami with Cam Newton at quarterback.

The last three seasons have featured tough competition to open the home slate - Miami in 2021 (17-16 loss), Baltimore in 2022 (37-26 loss) and Philadelphia in 2023 (25-20 loss). Seattle is of that same mold.

And after 2023 saw the Patriots go 1-7 in games played in Foxborough, veteran center David Andrews said on Wednesday that establishing a strong home field advantage is “huge,” especially if their offense can put up points early.

“I think that’s huge,” said Andrews. “You know, come out, and especially if you play from ahead at home, you know, is a big thing. Crowds involved, things like that. It would be a huge help for us Sunday.

“So you want to start fast at home, you know? Play the game on our terms, and hopefully the fans are as excited as we are to come back here and open this thing up at home.”

Kickoff for Sunday is set for 1 p.m. ET on FOX.