FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Quick thoughts and notes surrounding the New England Patriots and NFL:

1. Clockwork: Do the Patriots have a time management problem?

As coach Jerod Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt considered solutions to hopefully snap a four-game losing streak in Sunday’s home game (1 p.m. ET, CBS) against the 4-1 Houston Texans, this is a question they’ve been pondering .

Twice in their first five games, the Patriots had the ball deep in their own territory late in the second quarter, with their opponent getting all three timeouts each time. The Patriots’ approach had a counterproductive effect in both situations.

“Our execution all season at the end of the half just has to be better,” Mayo acknowledged.

In a 23-20 overtime loss to the Seahawks in Week 2, the Patriots found themselves on their own 8-yard line with 1:37 remaining until halftime. They ran 2 yards on first down, and the Seahawks didn’t take a timeout, so the clock ticked back to 58 seconds before quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw two incomplete passes.

That left the Seahawks down all three timeouts as they took over at their own 49-yard line with 35 seconds left after a punt. They used them all to set themselves up for a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the half – points that proved to be the difference in the game.

In the aftermath of the defeat, Mayo said it would be a real loss if the team didn’t learn from some of its mistakes, like that one.

But when a “copy” of the situation arose during last Sunday’s 15-10 loss to the Dolphins, the Patriots didn’t change their approach — and the execution didn’t improve, either.

At that point, they had the ball on their own 5-yard line with 1:50 to go until halftime. Rhamondre Stevenson ran 8 yards on first down and the Dolphins didn’t call a timeout. So the clock ticked back to 1:14 by the time the Patriots hit the ball on second down, with Brissett throwing incomplete down the right sideline to rookie receiver Ja’Lynn Polk to stop the clock.

Then, with 1:09 left, Brissett again threw incomplete, ultimately giving the Dolphins the ball back at their 44-yard line with 55 seconds left. While Miami bungled a field goal attempt, the trickle-down effect of the Patriots’ offensive approach was that the defense played seven extra shots – which caught up to them in the fourth quarter when they tired.

Van Pelt discussed his thinking about that series.

“Personally, I’m still a little devastated,” he said. “We had two chances to get 2 yards to get a first down. We took a shot there with one of our best wideouts, on a corner, and gave him a chance. We didn’t win on the route and didn’t make the cut. the throw we had to make. Came back on third and possibly had a man open there and didn’t get it. And now we’re punting we decide to run it or pass it on.

“In retrospect, you play the ball over there and chew some more time off the clock. It’s that fine line of being aggressive or saying, ‘I’m just going to run the ball here and try to milk the clock and take us along to rest.’ “We haven’t been productive on offense in the passing game, so I was probably a little more aggressive than I needed to be at that point.”

Van Pelt prefers to be aggressive, much like his own playing style as a record-breaking quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh, but the Patriots aren’t built to play that way right now. Personnel mistakes by the previous regime put them in a compromising position, and it will take time to rectify this.

So it’s challenging to truly assess the work of Van Pelt, who has been open about his ups and downs in his first year as a full-time playcaller since 2009 with the Bills.

“I feel like I’ve put us in some good situations. I’ve had some bad decisions. Obviously the Jets game haunts me a little bit, some of the calls in that game,” said Van Pelt, who acknowledged that he needed to rely more on the run in that Week 3 loss.

“We all have to get better together. I have to be better at situational football,” he said.

2. ‘Excited for 10’: One of the themes in the Patriots’ locker room at the end of the week was summed up by a veteran player who said, “I’m excited for 10.” The No. 10, of course, is rookie quarterback Drake Maye, who makes his first career start on Sunday and whose mobility and strong arm to get the ball downfield created a different feel at practice this past week, according to players. Mayo felt a “renewed sense of energy” throughout the team – even without injured running back Rhamondre Stevenson (out with a foot injury) – and now the question is whether this translates into the game.

3. WRs Challenged: Patriots wide receivers have the fewest catches (39) and receiving yards (342) in the NFL. Will the team’s move to Maye – with Polk, second-year player Kayshon Boutte and top player DeMario Douglas in leading roles – help increase that number?

They have been challenged to show it, with a team source saying this week: “The ball is coming out (on time), so let’s see what you’ve got.”

One knock on risk-averse quarterback Brissett through the first five games was that he sometimes held the ball too long.

Jerod Mayo: Renewed feeling of energy now that Drake Maye has had a few good days of practice. pic.twitter.com/FzEyyfrwdX

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 11, 2024

4. Kraft on capsicum: Patriots owner Robert Kraft was a guest on “The Breakfast Club,” a national morning radio show, promoting his just-launched “#TimeOut Against Hate” campaign, as well as discussing the safety of Jabrill Peppers being placed on the commissioner’s exempt list placed.

“When you initially read it (police report), it turns your stomach. Once he is on the commissioner’s exempt list, they will conduct their independent audit. We do ours. If what’s been reported is true, he’s gone. some suggestions that this was a setup and that much of what was reported is incorrect… We want to get the facts.

5. Mapu as Phifer: Safety Marte Mapu, Sacramento State’s 2023 third-round pick, earned a lot of respect from coaches and teammates after coming off injured reserve last week and playing all 78 defensive snaps while also wearing the green dot on his helmet as main communicator the sidelines. Mapu had missed all but the first practice of training camp with what the team later announced as a calf injury.

His fast but physical playing style and unique role – part safety/part linebacker – left defensive backs coach Brian Belichick looking back at one of the underrated players from the team’s early championship years.

“Just like a Roman Phifer type back in the day,” Belichick said. “(Phifer) was less of a (traditional) linebacker, more of an athletic linebacker who could cover tight ends. That was obviously a different era – much more ’21 staff’ (2 backs, 1 tight end) and you played three on every snap ‘linebackers’.

“I love what Marte does for us. Obviously he sometimes plays in the penalty area, but he plays as a safety and can move around the defense. That’s what’s special about a player like that who can be so versatile for us. “

Q: Any update on Christian Barmore?

Jerod Mayo: “He’s making progress. He still has some checkpoints or hurdles to clear.”

Question: Do you think there is a better chance that Christian will be able to play at some point this season than he did a few weeks ago?

Mayo: “I would say yes.”

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 11, 2024

6. May 7: Since 2000, Maye becomes the seventh Patriots quarterback to make his first career start, joining Tom Brady (2001), Matt Cassel (2008), Jimmy Garoppolo (2016), Brissett (2016), Mac Jones (2021) and Bailey Zappe (2022) . It probably wasn’t a coincidence that the Patriots played Brissett’s first career start last week — a 27-0 win over the Texans in Brissett’s rookie season — in the athletic hall.

“Hopefully he has the same outcome,” Brissett said.

7. Andrews/Strange link: Longtime Patriots center David Andrews will travel to Colorado to undergo shoulder surgery by Dr. Matthew Provencher, which will give him the best chance to play in 2025. Andrews explained on his “Quick Snap” podcast that he tore his previously repaired rotator cuff, so the plan is to put a wrap over it in hopes of the muscle growing back. When he returns to the Patriots after surgery, he plans to rehab and work closely with 2022 first-round pick Cole Strange as he transitions to learning the center position.

Strange, who has played exclusively at guard at this point, is seen as a potential center for the future as Andrews enters his 11th (and possibly final) season in 2025. If Strange ultimately becomes his successor, it would be a notable part of Andrews’ already impressive team legacy.

8. London Plans: This week will be a different week for the Patriots from a travel perspective as they face the Jaguars next week at Wembley Stadium in London. They plan to travel to London after Thursday’s training in Foxborough and are then scheduled for training on Friday in Britain, with Mayo and Maye also due to address international reporters that day.

Along those lines, special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer said he was already preparing for the Jaguars late last week, which is standard procedure for him.

9. Did you know? Part I: Maye turns 22 years and 44 days old on Sunday, making him the youngest quarterback to start a regular-season game for the Patriots since Drew Bledsoe in the team’s 1993 Week 18 season finale against the Dolphins. Bledsoe was 21 years and 322 days old.

10. Did you know? Part IIAccording to Elias Sports Bureau, Mayo’s Patriots team will host DeMeco Ryan’s Texans team on Sunday, the first NFL game with head coaches who made multiple Pro Bowls as players since September 30, 1990 – when Art Shell and the Raiders defeated a Mike Ditka-led Bears team 24-10.