Jerod Mayos Patriots giving off a familiar Bill Belichick feeling

The purge was complete once Bill Belichick left New England after last season.The departure of the game’s most decorated head coach came four years after the exit of the game’s most successful quarterback, Tom Brady, who left after the 2019 season.The new era in New England officially began in earnest last Sunday with a stunning season-opening victory with rookie head coach Jerod Mayo in charge and a new/old quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, behind center.For the first time in 24 years, the Patriots played a game without Belichick at the helm.

And, though it was only one game from what’s expected to be one of the weakest teams in the league in the midst of a full rebuild, the result looked familiar.Belichick won 302 regular-season games.Mayo last Sunday won his first.It was emotional, it was surprising, and it made you wonder just how much Mayo gleaned from Belichick.The Patriots won behind the running of Rhamondre Stevenson’s 120 rushing yards and the team’s only touchdown.Brissett, whose played under Belichick as a Patriots rookie in 2016, took care of the football.

And the defense shut down Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, forcing and recovering two fumbles against a team that lost only two of them all last season.Now, the Patriots are trying to go 2-0 with a win in Sunday’s game against the Seahawks.The Patriots, who were 8.5-point underdogs against the Bengals and weren’t the preseason betting favorite to win any of their games in 2024, finished 4-13 and in last place in the AFC East last season.Their 13.8 points per game scoring was tied for the lowest in the league.But the defense gave the Patriots chances to win games last season, allowing 21 or fewer points in eight of 17 games.

And it looks like that will be the case again this season under the 38-year-old Mayo — who’s spent his entire pro career with the franchise as a player, an assistant coach and now the boss.Brissett is a veteran placeholder for first-round pick Drake Maye, as the rook...