season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/patriots-news-jerod-mayo-update-coaching-future');   ga('set', 'title', 'Patriots HC Jerod Mayo gets an interesting update on coaching future');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Patriots-news-Jerod-Mayo-gets-an-interesting-update-on-NE-coaching-future.jpg"></figure><h1>Patriots HC Jerod Mayo gets an interesting update on coaching future</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-23T18:30:45-08:00">December 23rd, 6:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-23T18:30:45-08:00">December 23rd, 6:30pm</time><address><a>Dakota Zientek</a>Dakota Zientek graduated from the University of Iowa in 2020 and has been writing about the NFL ever since. As a die-hard NFL fan, Dakota's fandom rides with the Chicago Bears through thick and thin -- regardless of how much pain it has caused his heart throughout the years. One day, he believes he will celebrate the Bears winning a Super Bowl. Maybe even... a few?</address><h3 class="op-kicker">New England Patriots</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After the New England Patriots nearly defeated the Buffalo Bills in Week 16 with their season all but over, discussions of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl-rumors-what-could-lead-patriots-fire-jerod-mayo">Jerod Mayo’s future</a> reignited. And while some believe the first-year coach should get fired following the Patriots’ 2024 season, that <a href="https://x.com/RapSheet/status/1871358811220451382" rel="noopener">doesn’t appear to be the case</a>, per Ian Rapoport on X.</p><p>“The Patriots are still playing hard for Jerod Mayo,” Tom Pelissero said ahead of Monday Night Football. “They showed that yesterday in Buffalo, which would seem to bode well for Mayo getting a second year in New England.”</p><p>Adding to Pelissero’s report, Rapoport clarified what the Patriots could do with their first-year head coach.</p><p>“That’s exactly right,” Rapoport added. “Robert and Jonathan Kraft, from my understanding, want Jerod Mayo to come back for a second season. They believe in Jerod Mayo. This was the hand-picked leader of the organization to succeed Bill Belichick, actually, so much so they hand-picked him to be the successor before Belichick’s tenure was even done. Remember, he played for them, too.</p><p>“There’s a lot of love for Jerod Mayo in the building. The Patriots and Robert Kraft and Jonathan Kraft, specifically, also knew this would be a multi-year process due to this year, just personnel-wise, would be tough. That said, as you sometimes see this time of year, there’s going to be a lot of eyeballs on the way that they finish. If it all comes crashing down, if they really collapse, maybe somehow they think differently. The Patriots got a good result this past Sunday, taking the Bills right to the brink. You’d think that, specifically, would show that Jerod Mayo is absolutely kept the attention of his players.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The Insiders on <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLGameDay?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NFLGameDay</a> Kickoff with <a href="https://twitter.com/TomPelissero?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TomPelissero</a>: Looking at the future of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Patriots?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Patriots</a> HC Jerod Mayo, where <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lions?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lions</a> OC Ben Johnson may land, and what <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bills?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bills</a> QB Josh Allen has been playing through. <a href="https://t.co/OzisGmW3Rw">pic.twitter.com/OzisGmW3Rw</a></p><p>— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1871358811220451382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>After the Patriots drafted Mayo with the No. 10 pick in 2008, he spent eight seasons with the team. In those eight seasons, Mayo was named the 2008 Defensive Rookie of the Year, got voted into two Pro Bowls, was named an All-Pro, and won a Super Bowl.</p><p>Then, in 2019, Mayo would join the Patriots’ coaching staff as an inside linebackers coach.</p><p>Mayo stayed put in that position until <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/patriots-news-new-england-officially-hires-jerod-mayo-replace-bill-belichick-head-coach">being named head coach in 2024</a>, replacing Belichick after 24 years with the Patriots.</p><p>And in his first season, it’s gone about as poorly as it could’ve with the Patriots in contention for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.</p><p>However, the Krafts apparently expected a poor performance in 2024, giving Mayo a longer leash than some might be given as a head coach.</p><p>Now, if the Patriots reach rock bottom before the end of the year, moving on from the first-year head coach could make sense. But, with how this team looks after 16 weeks of the NFL season, it <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl-rumors-patriots-not-considering-firing-jerod-mayo-despite-rocky-2024-campaign">appears Mayo will get another shot</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Patriots HC Jerod Mayo gets an interesting update on coaching future

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/patriots-news-bill-simmons-eye-opening-drake-maye-guarantee');   ga('set', 'title', 'Patriots fan Bill Simmons drops eye-opening Drake Maye guarantee');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Patriots-news-Bill-Simmons-drops-eye-opening-Drake-Maye-guarantee.jpg"></figure><h1>Patriots fan Bill Simmons drops eye-opening Drake Maye guarantee</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-23T11:24:40-08:00">December 23rd, 11:24am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-23T11:24:40-08:00">December 23rd, 11:24am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">New England Patriots</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New England Patriots <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bills-news-josh-allen-reveals-lost-feeling-throwing-hand-during-win-patriots">lost to the Buffalo Bills 24-21 in Week 16</a>. While it was a crushing loss for New England, they saw plenty of positives from Drake Maye in the first quarter. The Pats were up 14-0 but allowed 24 consecutive points to let it slip away. The Ringer’s founder Bill Simmons is a noted Patriots fan <a href="https://youtu.be/2tHCu8O5ikw?t=2852" rel="noopener">and professed his love for</a> Drake Maye on his podcast.</p><p>“I’ll go further, my favorite Boston rookie of the 21st century. I’m all in, I’ll be happy to be haunted by this clip forever. Drake Maye is a sure thing. All the Pats fans are nodding now, we’ve been watching. He’s f—-ing incredible, our team sucks,” Simmons said.</p><p>His co-host “Cousin” Sal Iacono mentioned that Simmons also loved Mac Jones when he finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2021 before this comment. Simmons goes on to say he likes Maye as a rookie more than Mookie Betts or Jayson Tatum. He says that he has no receivers or protection and that is why they are losing games.</p><p>Maye has started and finished one win in nine attempts this season. He gets credit for a win over the Jets that Jacoby Brissett played most of. But Patriots fans, like Simmons, are sold on the North Carolina product.</p><h2><b>The Patriots picked a quarterback in the right year</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Drake-Maye-with-NE-Patriots-1.jpg"><figcaption>Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Patriots won four games last season and picked third because of it. While they lost out on Caleb Williams, that meant they would get one of the quarterbacks everyone was talking about before the draft. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/meet-jayden-daniels-commanders-no-2-pick-2024-nfl-draft">Commanders surprised many people by picking Jayden Daniels</a>, leaving the Pats with Drake Maye.</p><p>Simmons does say that Maye may not even be the best quarterback in the class. He gave flowers to Washington’s quarterback. “The funniest thing is he might not even be the best quarterback in his class because Daniels is also amazing. If you gave Caleb vs. Drake Maye it’s no contest.”</p><p>And this is not even a three-quarterback class. Bo Nix has the Broncos on the doorstep of the playoffs and has a bright future in the league. No matter who the Patriots took, there would be fans declaring him the next Tom Brady, to Iacono’s point. But Maye has made some special plays that have fans believing in the Patriots for the first time since Brady left.</p><p>Maye can end his season strong with games against the Chargers and Bills and play playoff spoiler down the stretch.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Patriots fan Bill Simmons drops eye-opening Drake Maye guarantee

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/patriots-drake-maye-shoots-down-jerod-mayo-firing-rumors-fiery-endorsement');   ga('set', 'title', 'Patriots’ Drake Maye shoots down Jerod Mayo firing rumors with fiery endorsement');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Patriots-news-Drake-Maye-shoots-down-Jerod-Mayo-firing-rumors-with-fiery-endorsement.jpg"></figure><h1>Patriots’ Drake Maye shoots down Jerod Mayo firing rumors with fiery endorsement</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-23T05:54:45-08:00">December 23rd, 5:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-23T05:54:45-08:00">December 23rd, 5:54am</time><address><a>Conor Roche</a>Conor Roche is a sports journalist that has covered Boston sports for a few years and has worked on the Patriots beat since the 2022 season.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">New England Patriots</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Drake Maye made a point to defend <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl-rumors-what-could-lead-patriots-fire-jerod-mayo">Jerod Mayo and the rest of the New England Patriots coaching staff</a> following their 24-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.</p><p>Following the loss, Maye turned a question on how Sunday’s surprise showing was a good sign that the players have the coaching staff’s back to <a href="https://x.com/LosTalksPats/status/1871000606019830213" rel="noopener">attacking the hot seat rumors surrounding Mayo</a> and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.</p><p>“I think it’s some BS, to be quite honest,” Maye said of the rumors. “Coach Mayo, those guys, like I said, we’ve got his back, and he’s coached us hard. He wants to win. We all want to win. We’re all frustrated. AVP’s been – I feel like – calling great the past weeks.”</p><p>There have been some hot-seat rumors surrounding Mayo and Van Pelt as the team’s losing streak moved to five games with Sunday’s loss. Beyond the losses, Mayo seemingly hasn’t made life easier for himself at the podium this season, either. He made a comment following the loss to the Arizona Cardinals last week where <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/patriots-news-jerod-mayo-cryptic-drake-maye-gameplan-message-cardinals-loss">he seemed to throw Van Pelt under the bus</a> for his playcalling before clarifying himself.</p><p>It doesn’t appear a change in leadership is imminent for the Patriots, though. Owner Robert Kraft views Mayo as <a href="https://x.com/RapSheet/status/1870836793748095244" rel="noopener">the right head coach for the Patriots</a> moving into 2025, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported earlier in the day.</p><p>Regardless of Mayo’s job status, Maye took the blame for the loss while crediting the rest of the team and coaching staff for the way they’ve handled business late in the year as their playoff hopes have been gone for a while.</p><p>“We’re just plays away, and it’s basically me turning the ball over,” Maye said. “I think it’s just a testament to these guys that keep fighting. We keep fighting. Shoot, we’re not going to make the playoffs; we’re out of the race, and these guys are coming in, frustrated when we don’t score. They’ve got energy at practice, and they’ve got energy coming into the game.”</p><p>Maye had another impressive showing on Sunday, arguably outdueling MVP frontrunner Josh Allen. He completed 22 of 36 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns with a 90.2 passer rating. His first touchdown pass was an impressive throw to Kayshon Boutte, seamlessly dropping the ball to the wideout in tight coverage on a go route along the sideline.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Drake Maye DIME to Boutte for the TD!</p><p>📺: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NEvsBUF?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NEvsBUF</a> on CBS/Paramount+<br>📱: <a href="https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG">https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG</a> <a href="https://t.co/lyOsqDG3zs">pic.twitter.com/lyOsqDG3zs</a></p><p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1870945421020811714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>But Maye wasn’t without his warts, either. The Patriots rookie threw a costly red zone interception and he was credited for a fumble on a swing pass that turned into a scoop-and-score for the Bills.</p><h2><b>Why Drake Maye said he’s ‘proud’ to be a part of the Patriots</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Drake-Maye-2.jpg"><figcaption>Mark Konezny-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Even though Maye’s two turnovers were game-changing errors, they likely wouldn’t have had a chance to win without him. He helped the Patriots get out to an early 14-0 lead before some bad plays on both sides of the ball resulted in 24 straight points scored by the Bills.</p><p>As games like Sunday cause some to wonder just how much the Patriots are holding Maye back, he continued to stick up for his team.</p><p>“We want to win,” Maye said. “There’s guys not even playing that are yelling on the sidelines and wanting to win. So, I think we’re building something good, building something that feels right here, and I’m proud to be a Patriot.”</p><p>If the Patriots are building something good, they aren’t bearing the fruits of that labor this season. At 3-12, they’re tied for the second-worst record in the NFL and hold the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft following Sunday’s games. But performances like the loss against the Bills can be good things to build off of moving into 2025 and beyond.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Patriots’ Drake Maye shoots down Jerod Mayo firing rumors with fiery endorsement

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl-rumors-what-could-lead-patriots-fire-jerod-mayo');   ga('set', 'title', 'NFL rumors: What could lead Patriots to fire Jerod Mayo');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/0What-could-lead-Patriots-to-fire-Jerod-Mayo0.jpg"></figure><h1>NFL rumors: What could lead Patriots to fire Jerod Mayo</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-22T08:02:06-08:00">December 22nd, 8:02am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-22T08:02:06-08:00">December 22nd, 8:02am</time><address><a>Jaren Kawada</a>Jaren Kawada is a former full-time sports bettor and is now a NFL, College Football and Betting Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. Kawada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but now resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, after graduating from Butler University with a B.A. in sports media. Aside from football, Kawada is an avid combat sports and basketball bettor.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">New England Patriots</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/drake-maye-admits-frustration-after-patriots-ugly-loss-to-cardinals">New England Patriots struggling</a> for most of 2024, Jerod Mayo has become one of the NFL’s most scrutinized head coaches. However, despite his leadership being called into question, Robert Kraft and Eliot Wolf appear to be sold on the young coach for the time being.</p><p>Kraft, specifically, is fond of Mayo and <a href="https://x.com/RapSheet/status/1870836793748095244" rel="noopener">wants to keep him</a> as the team’s head coach, Ian Rapoport revealed on the NFL Network. Yet, the team’s view of Mayo could change if the Patriots’ struggles grow exponentially down the stretch of 2024.</p><p>“The Krafts want to keep Jerod Mayo,” Rapoport said. “They believe he is the organization’s leader for the future. They knew it would be a murkier process to get this thing right. Now, if things go off the rails, they start to really struggle, and he loses the locker room in the last couple of games; we’ve seen this thing turn. As of right now, the Patriots believe Jerod Mayo is their leader for the future.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">From <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLGameDay?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NFLGameDay</a>: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bills?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bills</a> QB Josh Allen has been playing at an MVP-caliber level… with a broken hand; Meanwhile, the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Patriots?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Patriots</a> view Jerod Mayo as their leader for the future and absent a freefall to end the season, he’s likely to return. <a href="https://t.co/J80DjdptZg">pic.twitter.com/J80DjdptZg</a></p><p>— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1870836793748095244?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Entering Week 16, the Patriots are just 3-11 and last place in the AFC East. Their three wins all come over opponents with losing records while they own six of their 11 defeats by double digits. Regardless, they have shown <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl-rumors-patriots-not-considering-firing-jerod-mayo-despite-rocky-2024-campaign">no signs of desiring to fire Mayo</a> and have instead claimed the opposite.</p><p>Despite the overall down year, New England has reason for optimism, given the positive signs rookie quarterback Drake Maye has shown in 2024. Since taking over as the starting quarterback in Week 6, Maye has thrown for 1,898 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. While still a work in progress, his flashes of potential give Kraft and Wolf reason to believe in the current team and its future.</p><h2><b>Patriots look to avoid worst season since 1992</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jerod-Mayo-1.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Up until 2019, the entire 2000s had been dominated by the Patriots. Tom Brady’s departure after 20 seasons sent them down a path of rebuilding, and longtime head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/patriots-news-new-england-parts-ways-bill-belichick-24-seasons">Bill Belichick’s subsequent retirement</a> caused even further turmoil. As a result, New England has endured a three-year stretch of losing seasons for the first time in decades.</p><p>With just three wins through the first 15 weeks of 2024, the Patriots are in danger of suffering their worst season since 1992. In the 31 seasons since then, New England has not won three or fewer games. Their four-win campaign in 2023 was their worst year since going just 2-14 in 1992, but Mayo’s squad is threatening to take another step back.</p><p>With three games remaining in 2024, the Patriots have multiple opportunities to change that fate but will face an uphill battle. Beginning in Week 16, two of their final three games will be against the 11-3 Buffalo Bills. Their dreaded matchups with the Bills sandwich a game against the 9-6 Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17.</p><p>While Buffalo has already clinched the AFC East, the Chargers are still fighting for a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. Los Angeles cannot secure its division anymore with the Kansas City Chiefs already doing so, but they remain the top team in play for a Wild Card berth.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NFL rumors: What could lead Patriots to fire Jerod Mayo

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/3-interesting-landing-spots-for-diontae-johnson-after-ravens-exit');   ga('set', 'title', '3 interesting landing spots for Diontae Johnson after Ravens exit');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/3-best-landing-spots-for-Diontae-Johnson-after-Ravens-exit.jpg"></figure><h1>3 interesting landing spots for Diontae Johnson after Ravens exit</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-20T16:19:39-08:00">December 20th, 4:19pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-20T16:20:42-08:00">December 20th, 4:20pm</time><address><a>Matty Breisch</a>Matty Breisch is a multifaceted writer who specializes in NFL and WWE content at ClutchPoints. He can be read at Heavy, FanSided, Philadelphia Sports Network, and right here at ClutchPoints. Are you ready to read about football and wrestling? Well, you've come to the right place.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After weeks and weeks of questions, whispers, and rumors at all levels of NFL interest, the Baltimore Ravens have made it official: <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ravens-waives-diontae-johnson-after-rocky-stint">Diontae Johnson has been waived</a>.</p><p>That’s right, after being acquired ahead of the trade deadline, refusing to check in against the Philadelphia Eagles, being suspended one week, <i>and</i> excused from practice the next, Johnson has officially been sent to waiver wires, where he could theoretically end up being claimed by any team – that can afford his contract – or end up being an unrestricted free agent he no one takes the bait.</p><p>A disappointing end for Johnson? For members of Ravens Nation, you bet, but hey, after failing to find a spot in Baltimore’s offense, Johnson now provides some serious drama just before Christmas, with plenty of teams in need of wide receiver help for one reason or another.</p><p>But where should Johnson land? Are there teams that make more sense than others moving forward? Why yes, yes there are, from rebuilding teams, to playoff hopefuls and even an old friend in Allegheny County with a need at wide receiver.</p><h2><b>3 potential landing spots for Diontae Johnson</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Drake-Maye-10-throws-a-pass-against-the-Indianapolis-Colts.jpg"><figcaption>© Eric Canha-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h2><b>1. New England Patriots</b></h2><p>Alright, so why would the Patriots, a team with a 3-11 record, waste everyone’s time by claiming Johnson off of waivers? New England hasn’t won a game since early November – no, not <i>that</i> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKpcxWG7asA">Early November</a> – despite getting some very good play out of rookie quarterback Drake Maye, and is fully eliminated from the playoffs as a result.</p><p>Well, simple, really: Johnson would make Maye better.</p><p>In 2024, the Patriots’ receiving corps has been rough. They released JuJu Smith-Schuster before the season, released KJ Osborn in the middle of the season, and have<a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nwe/2024.htm" rel="noopener"> flirted with benching</a> Kendrick Bourne at times in 2024 in favor of giving more looks to receivers like Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte. While Johnson isn’t <i>that</i> big of an upgrade over Bourne, a solid WR2 in most schemes, he’s already shown that he can be a force for a rebuilding team looking to build up the confidence of their young quarterback, catching 30 of the 58 balls thrown his way by the Panthers earlier this season for 357 yards and three touchdowns.</p><p>Plus, there’s a precedent for this sort of a move in 2024, a few, actually.</p><p>Most notably, when the Denver Broncos made the surprising decision to waive veteran wide receiver Josh Reynolds, he didn’t end up going to a team like the Chiefs or the Ravens – <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/42780250/nfl-week-14-predictions-fantasy-sleepers-upset-picks-stats-latest-buzz-2024" rel="noopener">teams who showed interes</a>t in his services, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler – but instead, the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have been one of the worst teams in the NFL in 2024. After losing veteran receivers Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis – plus tight end Evan Engram – to IR, the Jaguars decided to add another veteran to help out Trevor Lawrence and Mac Jones down the stretch.</p><p>So far, the results have been underwhelming for Reynolds, as he’s <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/R/ReynJo00.htm" rel="noopener">caught exactly zero passes</a> for the Jaguars and has only been targeted on time so far, a far cry from his 93-yard game for the Broncos back in September. Still, every case is different, and if Johnson wants to prove he’s worthy of a new ten-figure contract, he needs to show up and show out down the stretch, which the Patriots could allow him to do. If it worked for Yannick Ngakoue at outside linebacker – also, ironically enough, claimed off of waivers from the Ravens – a similar result could come for Johnson too.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Purdy-to-Aiyuk.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h2><b>2. San Francisco 49ers</b></h2><p>Alright, the could really be any team deep in the hunt for a playoff spot with a need at wide receiver, be it the Chiefs, the Eagles, or a certain squad that wears black and yellow – more on them later.</p><p>Sitting at 6-8, the 49ers could win out down the stretch and still not make the playoffs, as they are currently two games behind the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West with three games left to play. But with injuries across the board, including <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sfo/2024.htm" rel="noopener">three running backs on IR</a>, Brandon Aiyuk out for the year since Week 7, and nicked-up players across the board, the 49ers could use some additional firepower down the stretch, especially with showdowns against the Miami Dolphins, the Detroit Lions, and Arizona Cardinals left to play.</p><p>In 2024, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings, and Deebo Samuel are all doing their job, even if the collegiate Gamecock has struggled mightily in 2024 versus his career expectations. Still, the 49ers haven’t really gotten much out of their WR3 spot since Aiyuk went down in October. Rickey Pearsall has done his best, with players like Jacob Cowing, Ronnie Bell, and Chris Conley all catching passes in 2024, but the passing game really hasn’t reached the same heights as in years passed because Brock Purdy has had arguably his worst supporting cast as a pro.</p><p>Could Johnson step in and make plays for the 49ers, kicking Jennings back to his old position to become the 49ers’ new X receiver? Potentially so. But would the 49ers really risk bringing in a wide receiver who quit on his team after the whole <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/49ers-news-kyle-shanahan-admits-devondre-campbell-mistake-after-fiasco">De’Vondre Campbell debacle</a>? That is a much more interesting question.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Pittsburgh-Steelers-wide-receiver-Diontae-Johnson-18-tries-to-cut-back-against-the-Bills.jpg"><figcaption>© Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK</figcaption></figure><h2><b>3. Pittsburgh Steelers</b></h2><p>And last but not least, the team that Johnson was being linked to even before he was released by the Ravens: the Pittsburgh Steelers.</p><p>Need proof? Well, look no further than what ESPN’s Fowler had to say on the subject earlier this month, noting that the Ravens were <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/42780250/nfl-week-14-predictions-fantasy-sleepers-upset-picks-stats-latest-buzz-2024" rel="noopener">actually afraid</a> to release the former Steeler out of fear that he would land back in Pittsburgh as the two teams duke it out for the top spot in the AFC North.</p><p>“Something to keep in mind if Baltimore cuts Johnson: It plays Pittsburgh — Johnson’s old team — in Week 16,” Fowlers wrote for ESPN. “Whether the Steelers would want him back is unclear, but the way some people around the league see it: The threat of him sharing Ravens offensive intel with Pittsburgh could make Baltimore hold on to him.”</p><p>Fortunately for the Ravens, they got their wish, as Johnson won’t find a new home until a few hours before Monday Night Football. Unfortunately, he could still land back in Pittsburgh, where he knows Mike Tomlinson well, even if they have a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith and a new quarterback in Russell Wilson – plus Justin Fields, who still gets a snap or two here or there. While Johnson had some personal issues in Pittsburgh before he was traded to Carolina, which is nothing new for wide receivers who play in the Steel City, the Steelers have a very good chance to make the playoffs and could use additional help at wide receiver while George Pickins recovers from a hamstring injury.</p><p>Could time heal all wounds? Would Johnson be willing to take on a big role for the Steelers over the next few weeks only to become a complementary piece for Pittsburgh when Pickins returns to the field? While Johnson effectively told the Ravens, ‘It’s you, not me,’ because he didn’t play enough to satisfy his own statistical aspirations, who knows, maybe a return to Pittsburgh and a chance to chase a ring would be the best-case scenario for all parties involved. Really, the only question that would need to be asked is what number would Johnson take since Mike Williams got number 18 when he was acquired from the New York Jets shortly after the Toledo product was traded to Baltimore.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 interesting landing spots for Diontae Johnson after Ravens exit

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/patriots-news-jerod-mayo-shuts-down-christian-barmore-career-ending-question');   ga('set', 'title', 'Patriots coach Jerod Mayo completely shuts down Christian Barmore career-ending question');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jerod-Mayo-completely-shuts-down-Christian-Barmore-career-ending-question.jpg"></figure><h1>Patriots coach Jerod Mayo completely shuts down Christian Barmore career-ending question</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-20T11:10:06-08:00">December 20th, 11:10am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-20T11:10:06-08:00">December 20th, 11:10am</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/bingeable">Sonny Giuliano</a>Sonny Giuliano is an experienced sports writer for ClutchPoints who has been covering the NFL, NCAA Football, NBA, and NCAA Basketball for well over a decade. Originally from the small town of Elba, New York, Sonny received his degree from Florida Gulf Coast University and currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">New England Patriots</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Back in April, the New England Patriots made Christian Barmore the highest-paid non-Tom Brady player in franchise history when they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/patriots-news-christian-barmore-lands-massive-92-million-contract-extension-new-england">handed the then 24-year-old defensive tackle a four-year deal worth up to $92 million</a>. Unfortunately, before Barmore could step on the field for the 2024 season, it looked like his season, and potentially his career, was over <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/patriots-reveal-concerning-christian-barmore-health-update">due to a scary blood clot diagnosis</a>.</p><p>Impressively, Barmore worked hard over the opening months of the season and was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/patriots-news-new-england-huge-christian-barmore-move-ahead-week-11">able to make a return to the field in Week 11</a>, but now after a reoccurrence of symptoms, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/patriots-news-season-ending-christian-barmore-decision">the Patriots have made the smart and cautious decision to shut Barmore down for the season</a>.</p><p>On Friday morning, Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo spoke about Barmore’s health status for the first time since the return of symptoms, though he <a href="https://x.com/ChadGraff/status/1870126587703660639" rel="noopener">didn’t have anything to say</a> about when/if his star defensive tackle would eventually be able to make a return to the field.</p><p>“We’re not having those conversations right now,” Mayo said, per Chad Graff of The Athletic. “I feel for Barmore. He did everything right.”</p><p>When Barmore made his return to the field in mid-November <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6007600/2024/12/19/patriots-christian-barmore-illness-list-recurring-symptoms/" rel="noopener">he spoke candidly</a> about the process of being diagnosed and how supportive his teammates and coaches were throughout his recovery period.</p><p>“Blood clots are not a joke,” Barmore said, per Graff. “I had real bad shortness of breath, and it messed with me like a lot. … My teammates really supported the hell out of me, and I love them all, and coaches and all. And I told myself I was not going to lose that battle. So I told myself, I’m going to keep fighting and keep going.”</p><p>In four games this year, Barmore registered six tackles and one sack. Last season, he notched 64 tackles and a team-high 8.5 sacks, which was the sixth-most in the NFL among all interior defensive linemen.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo completely shuts down Christian Barmore career-ending question

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/buffalo-bills-bold-predictions-for-week-16-vs-patriots');   ga('set', 'title', 'Buffalo Bills bold predictions for Week 16 vs. Patriots');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/PUB-1218-Buffalo-Bills-bold-predictions-for-Week-16-vs.-Patriots.jpg"></figure><h1>Buffalo Bills bold predictions for Week 16 vs. Patriots</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-20T10:21:42-08:00">December 20th, 10:21am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-20T10:21:42-08:00">December 20th, 10:21am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Buffalo Bills</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Buffalo Bills host the New England Patriots in Week 16. After a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bills-news-buffalo-jumps-lions-super-bowl-favorites-after-week-15-win">massive win over the Detroit Lions</a> last week, the Bills are in great shape as the playoffs get closer. They are not out of contention for the one seed and the bye in the AFC, so every game is still important. The Patriots are seeing growth from Drake Maye but struggling everywhere else. Ahead of this divisional matchup, we have our Week 16 Buffalo Bills bold predictions.</p><p>There are not many notable injuries for the Bills coming into this week. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/plane-crashes-in-bills-ot-dion-dawkins-backyard">Left tackle Dion Dawkins missed practice Thursday</a> for a bizarre reason. A plane crashed in his backyard and he could not make it to the facility. He is expected to play on Sunday. Dalton Kincaid and Keon Coleman both came back last week and should be ready to go. Rasul Douglas, Damar Hamlin, and Matt Milano were limited participants in practice.</p><p>This is the first of two matchups between Buffalo and New England in the final two weeks. How will the first one play out? Here are the Week 16 Buffalo Bills bold predictions.</p><p><i><b>*Watch NFL games LIVE with fuboTV (<a href="https://www.fubo.tv/stream/football/?irad=356362&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener">free trial</a>)*</b></i></p><h2><b>Josh Allen adds four touchdowns and no picks to his MVP campaign</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Josh-Allen-with-Buffalo-Bills-8.jpg"><figcaption>Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Josh Allen is the odds-on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bills-josh-allen-nfl-mvp-lead-lamar-jackson-win-chiefs">favorite to win his first MVP award</a>. Despite a career full of regular-season success, he does not have the award yet and can put the finishing touches on that campaign this week. The Patriots have a weak defense and won’t have Christian Barmore for the Bills games. He will avoid Christian Gonzalez to score four touchdowns with no interceptions in this game.</p><p>Allen has been sensational the past two weeks even though the Bills lost one of those games. He is the odds-on favorite to win the MVP but a few great games from Lamar Jackson could change everything. Allen must keep the pedal down against sub-par opponents like the Patriots and Jets. Fantasy football managers are loving it, Bills fans are loving it, and it should keep up.</p><p>The Patriots have struggled to stop almost every offense they’ve played this season. There are few quarterbacks and offenses that are better than the Bills, if any. So this will be an onslaught from Allen.</p><h2><b>James Cook and Amari Cooper score touchdowns</b></h2><p>Allen scores a lot of touchdowns but he will spread the ball around in what should be a blowout. James Cook has been the running back the Bills needed before he came along. He is used to run the ball to get the attention off of Allen in close games. Cook also can break off big runs and will do it on Sunday. And Amari Cooper has not made much of an impact since <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bills-keon-coleman-drops-vintage-response-to-amari-cooper-trade">coming over at the trade deadline</a> but should get going in this game. Both will score touchdowns.</p><p>There are a lot of players who can score touchdowns on the Bills. They traded Stefon Diggs because he felt he was not getting the ball enough largely because of their depth. Adding Cooper has given them three receivers who can dominate in the red zone along with Cook, Dalton Kincaid, and Dawson Knox. The Bills will spread it around in this game.</p><h2><b>The Bills defense holds the Patriots under 20 points</b></h2><p>A lot of the conversation around the Bills this week has been about their defense. When they knew Jared Goff was going to pass the ball down two and three possessions, they could not stop it. While the Patriots are not on the same level of offense as the Lions, this needs to be a bounceback game. The Bills defense will hold Drake Maye under 20 points in this game. That will lead them to a blowout win.</p><p>The Bills are <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nfl" rel="noopener">14.5-point favorites</a>, according to FanDuel. They are -1200 on the money line and the over/under is 46.5.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Buffalo Bills bold predictions for Week 16 vs. Patriots

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/patriots-news-season-ending-christian-barmore-decision');   ga('set', 'title', 'Patriots make season-ending Christian Barmore decision amid ongoing symptoms');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/New-England-makes-season-ending-Christian-Barmore-decision.jpg"></figure><h1>Patriots make season-ending Christian Barmore decision amid ongoing symptoms</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-19T13:06:55-08:00">December 19th, 1:06pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-19T13:06:55-08:00">December 19th, 1:06pm</time><address><a href="https://matthew516sports.substack.com/">Douglas Fritz</a>Douglas Fritz has been writing about sports for almost four decades and publishes a Christian sports newsletter and podcast on Substack at Matthew516Sports. He started as a reporter for the student newspaper at East Tennessee State University, worked his way up to Editor-In-Chief, and began his sports writing career at the Johnson City Press daily newspaper while still in college. During 30-plus years at the Press, he covered University of Tennessee football, men's and women's basketball, ETSU athletics, and high school athletics. Among the people he has interviewed are Dale Murphy, Bobby Cox, John Smoltz, and Bruce Smith. He is also a Christian-based screenwriter (five feature-length and one short), book writer (three completed manuscripts and one novel), and songwriter.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">New England Patriots</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It looks like <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/beantown-rundown-patriots-shake-up-coaching-staff-doesnt-involve-firing-jerod-mayo">more changes are needed for the New England Patriots</a>. Even <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/patriots-news-drake-maye-reveals-deflating-reaction-early-game-ne-struggles">rookie quarterback Drake Maye is struggling</a> with the way things are going. And Thursday the Patriots made <a href="https://x.com/Patriots/status/1869844760246292849" rel="noopener">a season-ending decision</a> about Christian Barmore, according to a post on X by the team.</p><p>“The New England Patriots are placing defensive lineman Christian Barmore on the reserve non-football illness list after he experienced some recurring symptoms that required further evaluation. We appreciate everything Christian did to return to the team this season, but our top priority is Christian’s health and well-being. We know that he will continue to receive tremendous care and we want to ensure that he gets the time he needs to come back stronger than ever.”</p><h2><b>Patriots’ DL Christian Barmore couldn’t finish season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/New-England-Patriots-DL-Christian-Barmore.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Patriots activated Barmore in mid-November, giving him a three-week opportunity to get back on the field. He worked himself back into shape and appeared in four games in 2024. Barmore recorded one sack and six tackles in limited action.</p><p>Doctors found blood clots in late July. Barmore reportedly had bruising in his calf and went for further testing. Fortunately for Barmore, head athletic trainer Jim Whalen’s heightened awareness of clotting issues from captain David Andrews’ situation in 2019 allowed for an early diagnosis for Barmore.</p><p>That opened the door for Barmore to return this season, unlike Andrews, who missed the entire 2019 season. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo spoke highly of Barmore, <a href="https://www.patriots.com/news/roster-analysis-patriots-activate-dt-christian-barmore-release-wr-tyquan-thornton-in-series-of-moves-for-sunday-s-game-vs-the-rams#:~:text=Due%20to%20the%20early%20diagnosis,told%20Patriots.com%20on%20Friday." rel="noopener">considered a star defender</a> for the Patriots, according to patriots.com.</p><p>“For a guy who hasn’t who hasn’t really put on pads since January, it’s tough,” Mayo said. “You never want to just throw a guy out there coming off an injury, regardless of what the injury is, and throw him out there for 50 plays. That’s unrealistic. I think we see what he can handle and we’ll go from there.”</p><p>Barmore led the Patriots with 8.5 sacks and 49 pressures in 2023. He ranked seventh among interior defensive linemen with 32 run stops in 2023.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Patriots make season-ending Christian Barmore decision amid ongoing symptoms

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/saints-news-new-orleans-signs-clyde-edwards-helaire-amid-alvin-kamara-injury-questions');   ga('set', 'title', 'Saints sign Clyde Edwards-Helaire amid Alvin Kamara injury questions');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/New-Orleans-signs-Clyde-Edwards-Helaire-amid-Alvin-Kamara-injury-questions.jpg"></figure><h1>Saints sign Clyde Edwards-Helaire amid Alvin Kamara injury questions</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-18T14:28:23-08:00">December 18th, 2:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-18T14:28:23-08:00">December 18th, 2:28pm</time><address><a>Matty Breisch</a>Matty Breisch is a multifaceted writer who specializes in NFL and WWE content at ClutchPoints. He can be read at Heavy, FanSided, Philadelphia Sports Network, and right here at ClutchPoints. Are you ready to read about football and wrestling? Well, you've come to the right place.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">New England Patriots</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When news broke that Alvin Kamara had suffered a “<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl-week-15-injury-roundup-patrick-mahomes-alvin-kamara-more">groin adductor type of situation</a>” in Week 15 and his status moving forward was very much up in the air, the air came out of most New Orleans Saints fans’ sails.</p><p>Now granted, the 2024 season really hasn’t gone as planned, as the team has already fired their head coach after a white-hot start to the season and now sit at 5-9 in third place in the NFC South with no realistic chance to make the playoffs. But losing Kamara? The best player on the team? Talk about a bummer.</p><p>And yet, just when things look the most dire, GM Mickey Loomis came in clutch with a nice piece of business, signing <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/chiefs-news-release-former-first-round-pick-week-15" rel="noopener">recently released running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire</a> to the practice squad in order to <a href="https://x.com/TomPelissero/status/1869506661804876022" rel="noopener">help bolster their depth chart</a>, according to the team’s official social media account.</p><p>Pandering? Eh, maybe so, but then again, is that really a bad thing? Saints fans and LSU fans have an incredible crossover, and CEH played on some of the best Tigers teams in recent memories, becoming a first-round pick in 202, largely off of his 1,414-yard junior season back in 2019. Factor in that he was born in Baton Rouge, and bringing in Edwards-Helaire feels like the perfect buy-low move to make fans pop in an otherwise disappointing season.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Clyde-Edwards-Helaire-at-LSU.jpg"><figcaption>Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h2><b>Even Darren Rizzi is unclear when the Saints will have Alvin Kamara</b></h2><p>Discussing Kamara’s injury after Week 15, even head coach Darren Rizzi wasn’t sure what was going on with Kamara, noting that he had a groin injury but had <a href="https://www.nola.com/sports/saints/saints-alvin-kamara-groin-injury/article_ec68a818-bbf1-11ef-ade0-b7845a56146d.html" rel="noopener">no real timetable for his return</a>.</p><p>“He’s kind of dealing with a little bit of a groin adductor type of situation. It was very, very minor. I think he felt it on that diving touchdown catch, which was outstanding, by the way,” Rizzi said via Nola.com.</p><p>“So he’s going to get a couple of more opinions. A couple of more imaging things taken care of today, so we’ll kind of see where he’s at. At the moment, we kind of have the first set of images, and we’re going to kind of see what happens here with the second opinion. All that kind of thing.”</p><p><a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/schedule/_/name/no/new-orleans-saints" rel="noopener">Officially listed as questionable on Wednesday</a> in the lead-up to Week 16, Kamara’s future is very much up in the air heading into Green Bay Packers week. If he can’t go and the Saints lose to Green Bay, it’s worth wondering if the Saints should even bring back Kamara with ten losses on their record or if they should just give players like Edwards-Helaire an extended run to see if they can be long-term players for the team moving forward.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Saints sign Clyde Edwards-Helaire amid Alvin Kamara injury questions

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/patriots-vs-bills-predictions-pick-odds-spread-for-nfl-week-16-2024');   ga('set', 'title', 'Patriots vs. Bills predictions, pick, odds, spread for NFL Week 16 2024');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Patriots-vs.-Bills-predictions-pick-odds-spread-for-NFL-Week-16-2024.jpg"></figure><h1>Patriots vs. Bills predictions, pick, odds, spread for NFL Week 16 2024</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-18T14:26:57-08:00">December 18th, 2:26pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-18T14:26:57-08:00">December 18th, 2:26pm</time><address><a>Jake Faigus</a>Jake Faigus graduated from the University of Arizona in 2022 and has written for several publications and websites. He has had stops at Catena Media, Playmaker, DraftKings, USA Today, Spike Up, and Spotlight Sports Group. He also writes for Sporting News and works at iHeartMedia in Phoenix when he is not writing for ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Patriots are struggling this year, while the Bills are one of the best teams in the league this season. It is time to continue our NFL odds <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting" rel="noopener">series</a> with a Patriots-Bills prediction and pick.</p><figure><img src="https://a.impactradius-go.com/display-ad/3065-2113640"></figure><figure><img src="https://paramountplus.qflm.net/i/492408/2113640/3065"></figure><h2><b>Patriots-Bills Last Game – Matchup History</b></h2><p>This is the first matchup between the two teams this year. The Bills have dominated the rivalry recently, but they split their meetings last year, with both teams winning at home. This year, these two teams are very different, with the Patriots waiting for next year, while the Bills are in the running for the top seed in the AFC playoffs.</p><p>Overall Series: Patriots lead 78-50-1</p><p><i><b>Here are the Patriots-Bills <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nfl" rel="noopener">NFL odds</a>, courtesy of FanDuel. </b></i></p><h2><b>NFL Odds: Patriots-Bills Odds</b></h2><p>New England Patriots: +14.5 (-120)</p><p>Moneyline: +700</p><p>Buffalo Bills: -14.5 (-102)</p><p>Moneyline: -1100</p><p>Over: 46.5 (-110)</p><p>Under: 46.5 (-110)</p><h2><b>How to Watch Patriots vs. Bills</b></h2><p>Time: 4:25 pm ET/1:25 pm PT</p><p>TV: CBS</p><p><i><b>*Watch NFL games LIVE with fuboTV <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/football/?irad=356362&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener sponsored">(Get Access | Save $30)</a>*</b></i></p><h2><b>Why The Patriots Could Cover The Spread/Win</b></h2><p>The Patriots have struggled this season on offense. They average 292.4 yards per game and score 17 points per game. The offense has looked better under <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/patriots-news-drake-maye-bill-belichick-unc-head-coach">Drake Maye</a>, but it is still not great. He has 1,898 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, with a 68.5% completion percentage. The receivers have struggled this season, with Hunter Henry leading the way at tight end with 635 receiving yards and one touchdown on 65 receptions. The running game is the key with Rhamondre Stevenson in the backfield. He has 740 yards and six touchdowns on 193 carries. This offense has been struggling and faces a massive test against the Bills and their defense. Drake Maye has been a genuine bright spot at quarterback but does not have much help next to him. He is in for a long day in this game against the Bills and their defense.</p><p>The Patriots’ defense has been inconsistent this season. They allow 344.8 yards per game and 24.1 points per game. They are solid against the pass but struggle against the run, allowing 216.7 yards through the air and 127.4 yards on the ground. The defense has some talent, with Davon Godschaux, Keion White, and Anfernee Jennings up front and Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, and Christian Gonzalez in the secondary. The defense has potential, but it has faced its fair share of issues this year. They are beat up, too, which is a bad matchup leading into this game against the Bills. Josh Allen and the Bills offense have the talent to score all over this defense, and they should overwhelm them at home.</p><h2><b>Why The Bills Could Cover The Spread/Win</b></h2><p>The Bills have been great this season and led by their offense. They average 369.6 yards per game and are scoring 31.8 points per game. They are seventh in total offense and second in scoring. The offense is tied to how <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bills-news-josh-allen-draws-definite-mvp-take-stefon-diggs-despite-former-beef">Josh Allen</a> plays this year because he has been an MVP-caliber player this season. He has 3,395 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, and five interceptions with a 64.4% completion percentage. The receiving corps has been balanced and improved as the season continues. Khalil Shakir has been solid in the receiving corps and leads the team with 774 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 71 receptions. Thanks to Josh Allen and James Cook, the running game has been great. Allen has 484 yards and 11 touchdowns on 91 carries, and Cook has 828 yards and 13 touchdowns on 171 carries. This Bills offense will be able to score on the Patriots’ defense. Allen has been red-hot, and he should be able to continue his hot streak in this game, especially at home.</p><p>The Bills’ defense has been inconsistent this season. They allow 345.5 yards per game and 22.1 points per game. They have struggled against the pass and played better against the ground game. They allow 227.8 yards through the air and 117.7 yards on the ground. The defense has talent, too, with Greg Rousseau, Ed Oliver, and AJ Epenesa up front. Then, Matt Milano is great in the middle, and Rasul Douglas, Damar Hamlin, and Taylor Rapp are the big standouts in the secondary. This defense needs a matchup like this because they have been struggling these last two weeks to stop anyone. The Patriots are a great matchup and offer a chance for the defense to show up and shut down a struggling offense at home.</p><h2><b>Final Patriots-Bills Prediction &amp; Pick</b></h2><p>It is a massive spread, but the Bills should cover at home against the Patriots. The Patriots have a lot to build on, thanks to Drake Maye, but they are over-matched in this game. The Bills should move the ball and score all over this defense, and they should find some success with their defense at home, too. The Bills win and cover the big spread at home.</p><p><b>Final Patriots-Bills Prediction &amp; Pick: Buffalo Bills -14.5 (-102)</b></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Patriots vs. Bills predictions, pick, odds, spread for NFL Week 16 2024

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/beantown-rundown-patriots-shake-up-coaching-staff-doesnt-involve-firing-jerod-mayo');   ga('set', 'title', 'Beantown Rundown: Patriots must shake up coaching staff, but it doesn’t involve firing Jerod Mayo');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Patriots-must-shake-up-coaching-staff-but-it-doesnt-involve-firing-Jerod-Mayo.jpg"></figure><h1>Beantown Rundown: Patriots must shake up coaching staff, but it doesn’t involve firing Jerod Mayo</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-18T06:32:36-08:00">December 18th, 6:32am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-18T06:32:36-08:00">December 18th, 6:32am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints. He recently received his Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management and for a while ran his own sports website. Sports are his passion, and he thoroughly enjoys writing about thoughts and opinions that are related to the game. He has been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston and loves discussing all topics surrounding those teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Things have not been going well for the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/patriots-news-drake-maye-reveals-deflating-reaction-early-game-ne-struggles">New England Patriots</a> as of late. With a 3-11 record, they are largely playing as expected this season, and most importantly, they appear to have found their quarterback of the future in Drake Maye. But everything around him has been lackluster, with perhaps the biggest red flag being the struggles of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/patriots-news-jerod-mayo-cryptic-drake-maye-gameplan-message-cardinals-loss">Jerod Mayo</a> and his coaching staff.</p><p>After the Patriots parted ways with Bill Belichick at the conclusion of the 2023 campaign, Mayo was quickly hired by Robert Kraft to come in and replace the legendary head coach. Expectations were low, as evidenced by the fact this team has won only three games. But even then, Mayo has found ways to put himself on the hot seat less than a full year into his stint in charge of the team.</p><p>Calls for Mayo’s head are <a href="https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/jerod-mayo-coaching-future-alex-van-pelt-comments/674519/" rel="noopener">growing louder every week</a>, and it’s not hard to see why, as the team looks uninspired on the field, and he continues to stick his foot in his mouth anytime he speaks to the media. However, firing Mayo is not the right move, but it’s clear changes to his coaching staff need to be made in order for this team to succeed moving forward.</p><h2><b>How Patriots can fix Jerod Mayo’s coaching staff</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Patriots-head-coach-Jerod-Mayo_3a4e5d.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Replacing Belichick was always going to be a tough task for Mayo given how much success he enjoyed in New England. However, the roster Belichick left behind was in shambles, and the Patriots front office did not do much to improve it over the offseason. Their only truly successful move was drafting Maye, which is obviously very important. The problem is that pretty much the rest of the roster needs to be overhauled.</p><p>Beyond that, this is Mayo’s first head coaching stint in the NFL. He’d worked on Belichick’s staff with the Patriots since 2019, but being a head coach is very different than splitting defensive coordinator duties with Steve Belichick. New England should have worked on getting Mayo some experienced assistants to support him, but that’s pretty much the exact opposite of what they did.</p><p>Let’s start at offensive coordinator, where Alex Van Pelt is the second most unpopular guy on the coaching staff besides from Mayo. Van Pelt has spent pretty much his entire coaching career working as either a quarterbacks coach or offensive coordinator, and it’s pretty easy to see why the team brought him in. With Maye in town, the team wanted a reliable voice to come in and help their quarterback grow.</p><p>Contrary to popular belief, that has been Van Pelt’s most important job this season, and it’s tough to have any complaints with what we have seen from Maye to this point. He’s looked NFL ready during his first few starts, despite playing in one of the worst offenses in the league. That’s a testament to the work of Van Pelt and quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney.</p><p>Has Van Pelt’s playcalling left something to be desired throughout the year? Yes, but look at the unit he is working with. The offensive line and pass-catching corps are both among the worst in the league. When the line isn’t holding up in pass protection, and receivers can’t get open quickly, that shrinks the amount of plays you can call that actually have a shot of resulting in positive yardage.</p><p>While Van Pelt probably should have used Maye to convert either 3rd &amp; 1 or 4th &amp; 1 on a drive that stalled out at the Arizona Cardinals four-yard line in Week 15, or run a more up-tempo offense that yielded touchdowns on their final two drives, at the end of the day, he’s done what he’s needed to do with Maye. Despite calls for his head as well, he should not be fired, as he clearly has made great progress with Maye in just one season.</p><p>So if neither Mayo or Van Pelt should be fired, who is the guy that needs to get canned? That would be defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington, who also is in his first year of working as a defensive coordinator. Covington has been with New England since 2017, and after working closely with Mayo on the defensive side of the ball for four years as the defensive line coach, he got promoted to defensive coordinator when Mayo took over at head coach and Steve Belichick bolted for the Washington Huskies in the world of college football.</p><p>Simply put, the struggles on offense were expected this year. The struggles on defense were not. For the most part, New England brought back almost the entirely same defense as they did last season, and while the Pats were truly awful on offense in 2023, their defense was one of the best in the league. This season, they have been one of the worst units in the league.</p><p>Being without guys like Ja’Whaun Bentley, Christian Barmore, and Jabril Peppers for extended periods of time certainly has not helped, but New England managed to piece together their defense all year long in 2023. This year, the unit has lacked resolve and been tasked with incredibly confusing game plans that have left fans scratching their heads.</p><p>Pairing Mayo, a first-year head coach, and Covington, a first-year defensive coordinator, was a bad move in retrospect. And while there are many areas of this team that have disappointed, their lack of defensive integrity has been arguably the worst of the bunch. Whereas the offense needs a massive influx of talent, you can make a case that the defense already has most of the pieces needed to succeed in place.</p><p>Covington should either be fired or demoted, and a veteran defensive-minded coach with head coaching experience should be brought in. While he certainly doesn’t have a lot of luster surrounding him right now, a guy like recently fired Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus fits this bill perfectly. Yes, their offense is a mess, but Chicago’s defense was rock-solid for the first half of the season, and Eberflus can tell Mayo exactly what he should not do as a head coach.</p><p>There’s a lot of other work that needs to be done this offseason in order to turn this team into a playoff contender, but maximizing what they already have at their disposal is crucial. Covington has been unable to do that, and it means that moving on from him while holding onto Mayo and Van Pelt is the best path forward when it comes to building the Patriots coaching staff.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Beantown Rundown: Patriots must shake up coaching staff, but it doesn’t involve firing Jerod Mayo

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/patriots-news-drake-maye-reveals-deflating-reaction-early-game-ne-struggles');   ga('set', 'title', 'Drake Maye reveals ‘deflating’ reaction to Patriots’ early game struggle');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Patriots-news-Drake-Maye-reveals-deflating-reaction-to-early-game-NE-struggles.jpg"></figure><h1>Drake Maye reveals ‘deflating’ reaction to Patriots’ early game struggle</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-16T21:11:26-08:00">December 16th, 9:11pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-16T21:11:26-08:00">December 16th, 9:11pm</time><address><a>Matty Breisch</a>Matty Breisch is a multifaceted writer who specializes in NFL and WWE content at ClutchPoints. He can be read at Heavy, FanSided, Philadelphia Sports Network, and right here at ClutchPoints. Are you ready to read about football and wrestling? Well, you've come to the right place.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">New England Patriots</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After taking an ugly loss to the Arizona Cardinals, morale within the New England Patriots wasn’t particularly high, with players like <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/drake-maye-admits-frustration-after-patriots-ugly-loss-to-cardinals">Drake Maye expressing their dissatisfaction</a> with how the season was going after the game.</p><p>But what went wrong? I mean, sure, the Cardinals aren’t schmucks, but they aren’t a bad team either, sitting at an even 7-7 with three games left to play. Well, part of it has to do with the Patriots’ inability to get much going on the early drive, with the “<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/patriots-news-jerod-mayo-cryptic-drake-maye-gameplan-message-cardinals-loss" rel="noopener">scripted</a>” option of the game failing to produce much in the way of results.</p><p>This, understandably, left Maye <a href="https://www.patriots.com/news/new-england-patriots-postgame-quotes-12-15-x6203" rel="noopener">feeling rather deflated</a>, as he told reporters after the game.</p><p>So what’s the deal? Why can’t the Patriots seem to get much going through the air or on the ground when the team should be having the most success on scripted plays they could practice during the week? Well, Jerod Mayo was asked that question, too, and laid it out.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jerod-Mayo-coaching-the-Patriots_e89f55.jpg"></figure><h2><b>Jerod Mayo backs up Drake Maye’s claims about poor execution</b></h2><p>Asked if the Patriots intentionally tried to play things safe in Week 15 heading into the game, Mayo said no, noting that the team wanted to put up points early on but found themselves marred by poor execution.</p><p>What can the Patriots do to set a good tone early on moving forward? Well, considering Maye looked pretty good in the no-huddle, rhythm-based passing game in Week 15, maybe New England should lean into that moving forward.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Javon
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Javon Baker

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Javon
Baker