Patriots React To 'Smartest' Jakobi Meyers Behavior After Mistake

Said Patriots team leader Matthew Slater: “There’s nobody we trust more on the team than Jakobi Meyers ... It’s not his fault.''

Adversity is one thing. How a person handles it is another.

And to his credit, New England Patriots wideout Jakobi Meyers seems to be handling his in a way that is causing his teammates to be "proud'' of him.

"He’s not going to let results affect his performance," QB Mac Jones said of the receiver who committed the lateral-pass-fumble mistake - "The Lunatic Lateral'' - that has become an infamous game-ending gaffe from last week's loss to the Raiders.. "He’s going to grind and do whatever he can to help the team, like he’s done since he’s been here. 

"He definitely had a great practice (this week) ... and I’m just proud of the way he’s responding.”

Meyers himself wasted no time addressing the error - sometimes a difficult thing to do in such a high-pressure, high-profile situation. And that has also fortified the support from teammates.

ON THE FINAL PLAY! RAIDERS WIN

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/7r8IdrJnAv

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 19, 2022

“I was just trying to do too much. Trying to be a hero, I guess,” he said. “I was just doing too much. Should just have gone down.”

Said team leader Matthew Slater: “There’s nobody we trust more on the team than Jakobi ... It’s not his fault. We wouldn’t be in the game without him. He’s one of the most dependable, smartest, toughest football players on this team, and we’ll go down with him 10 out of 10 times.”

The Pats are 7-7 and need to hit the gas pedal in order to make a playoff push. But otherwise, "routine'' is the word Jones used more than once to describe the team's approach - and Meyers' approach.

“We just, no matter what happens the week before, we’re running the same schedule.'' Jones said. "I see him at the same times every day and on the off-day — everything."

Meyers has really only snapped back at being poked at on one occasion, in a tweet in which he acknowledged an attempt at a "joke'' with a subtle poke back.

Somebody please give this man the laugh he was looking for https://t.co/y3nSoPN2ae

— Jakobi Meyers (@jkbmyrs5) December 21, 2022

Immediately after the loss, Jones immediately embraced Meyers in support, later telling reporters that Jakobi is "one of the best teammates” he's ever had.

If the Patriots who play the Bengals this weekend) want to climb from 7-7 and put this season's many errors behind them, support like that seems like a foundational piece.

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