Patriots LB Fires Back at Angry Fans

A New England Patriots linebacker fired back at angry fans ahead of Week 18 action.

Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai (48) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots' fan base has become extremely frustrated with the team this season. That has led to some booing of late and a lot of social media attacks. Even the media has started covering the Patriots with a negative tone. It is something that the players have noticed and they're not happy about.

With that being said, linebacker Jahlani Tavai spoke out and fired back at the fans who have been booing New England. He is not a fan of how the fans have been conducting themselves.

During last week's game, one major chant rang out during the game. The fans were loudly yelling, "Fire Mayo!" Their calls for Mayo's job have gotten louder and louder as the season has gone on. Tavai did not hold back from taking a shot back at the fans.

“I was frustrated,” Tavai said. “I definitely think I told a fan to quiet down in a non-polite way.”

He continued on, revealing more about his frustration with the fans.

“I don’t know. There’s a reason why they’re fans,” he said. “Everybody can say what they think that we should be doing. In the long end, they’re not qualified to do what (Jerod) Mayo is doing, or whatever the Pats are doing. The fans, I appreciate them at times, but sometimes they just have to know their place and just understand that it’s a work in progress."

Finally, Tavai talked about how the Patriots getting back on track is going to be a process and that the fans can't expect them to start winning overnight.

“Rome wasn’t built in one day,” Tavai said. “The Lions, four years ago when Dan Campbell took over, what was their record (3-13-1)? Then these past 2 years, I’m not trying to compare, but that’s a goal we’re trying to develop here in this new regime. That’s the mission, to get to how the Lions are improving. That’s the type of team we see ourselves as: A playoff contender. Unfortunately, that’s not this year.”

Some fans will understand Tavai's returned frustration over the booing. For others, this will make them even angrier.

While the players don't have to like being booed, they can't dismiss the facts that are in place that have caused the fans to turn on them some. New England has not played good football all season long.

The sad thing this week is that even if they play well this week in the season finale, the Patriots' fan base might still boo them. A loss would secure the No. 1 overall pick, whereas a win would be a huge mistake that would set them quite a bit further back in the NFL Draft.

It will be interesting to see what ends up happening this weekend. Hopefully, New England doesn't play its way out of the top draft pick.

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