Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski once shared a locker room with Jerod Mayo. He recently told Ryan Morik of Fox News Digital he thought that Patriots owner Robert Kraft firing Mayo after just a single season was "kind of an ugly situation" because "it wasn't enough time to evaluate" Mayo as a head coach.

The biggest story of the game was at the quarterback position, as New England benched starter Drake Maye after one passing attempt, ending his season. In Maye's place was fellow rookie Joe Milton, who totaled 241 passing yards and two total touchdowns in the game.

‘Fire Mayo’ chants rained down en masse Saturday as the Patriots dropped to 3-13 on the season. But despite the 40-7 blowout and all the peanut gallery had to say about it, New England’s first-year head coach still has his believers in the locker room.