J.J. Watt Shouts Out Patriots HC

NFL legend J.J. Watt shouted out New England Patriots head coach after the win over the New York Jets.

Oct 27, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo calls a play against the New York Jets during the first half at Gillette Stadium. / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Jerod Mayo and the New England Patriots went through a rough week. After dropping to 1-6 last week, the first-year head coach make public comments about his team being "soft."

That started a media hellstorm against the Patriots and Mayo personally. Former New England stars and even Bill Belichick spoke out against the comments that Mayo made.

Even Mayo's job status started to be questioned by the media. That's how bad the week got for the Patriots and their head coach.

Heading into Week 8 action against the New York Jets, the only way to quiet the outside noise was to get a win. They weren't expected to do so, but New England was able to pull off the upset by a final score of 25-22.

Following the game, NFL legend J.J. Watt spoke out glowingly about Mayo. In a post on X, Watt gave major credit to Mayo for the tactics that he used to motivate his team.

"Credit to Jerod Mayo. His Patriots team responded," Watt posted.

Credit to Jerod Mayo.

His Patriots team responded.

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) October 27, 2024

Clearly, the messages that Mayo sent to his team did get through. They looked more motivated and they looked more together than they had throughout the previous six weeks.

Even after rookie quarterback Drake Maye went out for the game due to a concussion, the team rallied around Jacoby Brissett. They looked like a completely different team.

The moral of this story is that no one knows his team like a head coach. While the outside media and analysts felt that Mayo overstepped, his team responded to him.

Being able to weather the media storm and still come out poised and sharp is a major credit to Mayo and the Patriots. Mayo has quieted his doubters with the big-time win.

Granted, no one should be expecting New England to rattle off five straight wins and get right back in the playoff mix. They're still likely headed towards a rough all-around season and a high draft pick. But, they showed development and improvements.

For the rest of the season, the Patriots simply want to get better. If they can get back into the playoffs next season or the year after, they would be more than happy with that.

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