The Patriots defeated the Bears in Week 10 and they mounted a late comeback that fell short against the Rams in Week 11, so there wasn’t much reason to think they wouldn’t be competitive against the Dolphins in Week 12.

However, that is exactly what happened. New England gave up the first 30 points of the game, turned the ball over twice and committed 10 penalties en route to a 34-15 defeat that offered none of the hopeful developments of the previous games.

After the game, head coach Jerod Mayo said in his press conference that no team wants to “go backwards” but conceded that the Patriots had done so and said the blame for the performance rests on his shoulders.

“Yeah, it starts with me. I think it starts with me and getting these guys ready to go,” Mayo said.

Mayo later noted that coaches can’t do anything “once those guys cross the white lines,” before adding that his job is “to prepare not only them, but our coaches, to come out here and play better football to play.” Mayo has been inconsistent on that front in his first season and the Patriots will need progress on that front to grow consistently on the field as well.