FOXBOROUGH - The Patriots were back at it on Wednesday after getting their first victory Monday of the 2024 season. It was a welcome break and one that quarterback Jacoby Brissett said should help the players get caught up on some rest and stay focused during the long season.
"It's a lot easier to come in after a win rather than a loss," said Brissett, speaking as the team's starting quarterback this week with Drake Maye working his way through the NFL's concussion protocols. "I guess the energy and the vibe is obviously ramping up more and more. So, it's something that we've got to build on and try to earn the right to have this feeling again next week."
With a needed victory over the Jets in the rearview mirror, head coach Jerod Mayo turned the page to the 1-7 Titans.
"When I look at that team, it's a team that's really in a similar situation as us," said Mayo. "They have good players. They have a good scheme. They just haven't been able to put it together as far as a record is concerned."
It looked like the Patriots were starting to put some things together last week against the Jets, and improved their record as a result. It wasn't perfect in any of the game's three phases, but the team showed the kind of resiliency that they'll need to keep stacking wins.
"We made mistakes, obviously, nobody's gonna be perfect, but just being able to be resilient and bouncing back from those mistakes and still persevering," said Keion White, highlighting what impressed him most about the turn-around win.
"When we do our jobs and we're consistent on what we do, that's what happens," said Jahlani Tavai. "That showed in Cincinnati, it was a tight game, but nobody panicked. Everybody just continued to either, if we're on defense, make the tackles, make their checks. On offense, everybody caught the ball and ran the ball hard and, you know, I got nothing but trust for each and every one of the guys in there. So when we do our jobs and we're consistent on doing the right thing, it shows."
Tavai was one of the key pieces from the team's defensive effort, registering five tackles, a quarterback pressure and a run stuff. An experienced veteran whose role has increased since Ja'Whaun Bentley went down for the year, Tavai echoed the message that the team knows what they can do, they just have to do it week in and week out.
"Even in our losses, we show that we can do things right, but it comes down to being consistent," said Tavai. "So today's a new day. It's a new week. We got Tennessee.... You know, we strive to be under 100 yards rushing, and this is another opportunity to showcase that."
Improvement in run defense continues to be atop the team's to do list. Last week they allowed their lowest rushing total (112) since Week 2 as they finally stopped a five-game streak of allowing over 130 rushing yards. That included allowing over 190 rushing yards in each of their last two lossses.
"What worked last week isn't going to work this week, but we just try to improve upon what we did well last week and fix what we didn't and just get better week by week," said White. "With sports, momentum is a big thing, so trying to get that momentum and trying to get win number two is definitely going to be big for us, for sure."
No one has seen more football than veteran Jonathan Jones, who liked what he saw from his team last week but shared White's message that it's an entirely new challenge this week.
"This is a league where what you did last week doesn't really carry over," said Jones. "So, coming out this week and performing and getting another victory is the goal."
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