“Just a lack of communication,” Mayo said.
Mayo said he and the players knew what to expect from Miami’s offense entering the game, but they didn’t adjust properly to account for some trickery by the Dolphins.
“It wasn’t a secret,” Mayo said. “They use motion and shifts and things like that to stress the communication, and we just weren’t on the same page.”
Another part of what makes Miami so difficult to defend is the pace with which the Dolphins run their offense. Mayo said he was prepared for that aspect of their game, too, but couldn’t slow things down.
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“Tempo is always difficult,” the coach said. “Those guys come out with one-word plays. I feel like we were on the same page out on the field.”
If there is a bright side to the defensive struggles, Mayo said, it was that the defense can go “nowhere but up.”
“A lot of that stuff, going back to the big plays, it starts there,” Mayo said. “The defensive line and the run game, I don’t think that was a problem this game. It was just the big plays.”
The Patriots were plagued with errors on offense as well, particularly from the line. All five of New England’s first-half drives were slowed by mistakes from tackles Vederian Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs, who combined for six penalties and allowed two drive-ending sacks before halftime.
The New England offensive line allowed four sacks total, and Mayo took Jacobs out late in the game.
“He was having a tough game — whether it’s penalties or blocking the edge, he was having a tough game,” Mayo said. “And you’ve got to protect the quarterback as an offensive lineman. That’s what we do.”
New England finished the game with 10 penalties for 75 yards.
“That’s what the game really came down to,” Mayo said. “It’s us going out there, kicking ourselves in the butt, or stomping our toe against the wall because of the penalties. … I don’t think any team wants to go backwards in any case, in any calls, but we did that today.”
Mayo, as he often has after Patriots losses this season, said the result falls mainly on his shoulders, not only on his players.
“I mean, that’s why we’re coaches,” Mayo said. “Find a solution. You’ve got to figure out what lever to pull to get a guy going. Sometimes, it could look good during the week, and then you get into the game, and it’s a surprise.”
