Patriots Coach Sends Bold Warning To Opponents

New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo sent out a bold warning to his team's opponents.

August 8, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo watches the video boards after challenging a call on the field during the second half against the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium. / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots were able to pull out a hard-fought 16-10 upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1.

Jerod Mayo led his team to a season opening win and his first career victory as an NFL head coach. A new era of football has begun for the Patriots and they started things off right.

Offensively, New England was carried by running back Rhamondre Stevenson. After signing a lucrative four-year, $36 million contract extension this offseason, Stevenson proved the Patriots right for their belief in him right off the bat to begin the year.

Stevenson carried the football 25 times for 120 yards and a touchdown in the win.

Clearly, Mayo and the coaching staff had a run-heavy game plan heading into the game. That's something that Patriots fans should expect to see moving forward.

After the game, Mayo spoke out about the ground game and sent a bold warning to opponents.

"We will always, always, offensively, be a run-first team. And you've gotta stop it. And if you do, then we have answers after that. It's not a secret."

Jerod Mayo: "We will always, always, offensively, be a run-first team. And you've gotta stop it. And if you do, then we have answers after that. It's not a secret."

Don't hear that often nowadays in the NFL.

— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) September 9, 2024

Basically, he's saying that opposing defenses are going to have their hands full with Stevenson all season long.

In recent years, New England has been a very pass-heavy offense. Even with Mac Jones, the Patriots liked to throw the football. Mayo is looking to get back to a smashmouth style of offense.

Just like the win against the Bengals, New England isn't worried about winning pretty. They want to beat up opponents and grind out wins. Fans haven't seen that old-school approach to the game much recently, but it sounds like the Patriots are ready to get back to that offensive style.

All of that being said, it will be interesting to see how New England fares in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks in their home opener. Expect to see heavy dose of Stevenson and the running game once again.

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