The Patriots were undisciplined and consistently shot themselves in the foot during Sunday’s 34-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
The 10 penalties accepted for 75 yards – 13 in all were assessed – did the Patriots no favors. It’s been a familiar refrain throughout the season.
The Patriots had entered the game averaging 7.73 penalties per game. They were flagged nine times in the first half alone, with seven of those accepted by Miami.
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The offensive line was responsible for most of the whistles, with tackles Vederian Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs the worst of the lot.
Lowe committed four penalties (three false starts, one hold), while Jacobs, who was eventually benched in favor of Sidy Sow, was whistled for a false start and a hold. He also allowed eight pressures, per Pro Football Focus.
The defense also got into the act with pre-snap penalties.
Coach Jerod Mayo’s response to once again being killed by undisciplined penalties?
Initially, he put the blame on himself.
“Look, it starts with me. It starts with me,” he said. “We’ve had these hiccups of games where the penalties really affected us, and it did today.”
Later, he was asked about the players, and when they have to start looking themselves in the mirror. When is it on the them?
“Look, once those guys cross the white lines, there’s nothing I can do for them,” he said. “There’s nothing any coach can do for them once they cross the white line. It’s my job to continue to prepare not only them, but our coaches, to play better football.”
