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The Press Pass: Was Last Week a Mirage for Pats, or Reason for Optimism?

Boston Celtics v Charlotte Hornets

Photo: Grant Halverson / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images

By Chris Ryan

The Patriots win over the Jets in Foxboro last Sunday was desperately needed, as it appeared things were spiraling out of control.

In a sport that requires such a mental and physical buy in, positive results and reinforcement are extremely important. Players literally put their bodies on the line each week and risk serious injury every snap.

That's why Jerod Mayo's "soft" comments were such a big deal. It's basically an assessment to see where everyone is at. Are you with me or are you just a passenger?

"I'm not sure what it means for me, as a coach personally," Mayo said when I asked him about the players responding to his message. "I'm proud of the guys in the locker room and the way the approached things each and every day, no matter what was going on."

It also wasn't just that the Patriots won, it's how the Patriots won.

They overcame a head injury that sidelined Drake Maye in the second quarter with Jacoby Brissett stepping in and leading the team down the field with a 12 play, 70 yard game winning touchdown capped by a 4th and inches TD rush by Rhamondre Stevenson, where the Pats dared the Jets to stop them.

Now the question is whether the Patriots can turn this into a two game winning streak in Tennessee against the Titans today. The answer should be yes.

The Titans (1-6) still seem to be searching for rock bottom, where the Patriots (2-6) appear to be ascending from there.

The key will be if the Patriots defense cam build off their performance last week. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough. The Pats did give up over 100 yards on the ground, but didn't get scorched like in previous weeks. A test today is to see if they can hold the Titans under 4 yards per carry and make Mason Rudolph put the ball in the air.

"We've obviously dealt with some adversity with all the injuries," said Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings. "There's guys that are getting an opportunity that haven't played a lot of football to this point. But, I feel like guys have handled it well and everybody has accepted the challenge."

Pritchard Impresses for Celtics

The Celtics star power is well known. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the best duo in the league and two of the top players in the game. But, Boston's depth is so impressive, and important, in a really, really long season.

Payton Pritchard is the best example of that. He's averaging 15.7 PPG in 27.9 MPG while shooting 43.9% from behind the arc on 9.4 attempts per game.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told me the thing he likes most about Pritchard is his "competitive nature."

"I feel like I'm probably the most competitive (person) on our team," said Pritchard. "I hate losing in anything. I want to win at everything. If we're playing wiffle ball before practice, I want to win. It's how I've always been, and it's probably why I'm here today."

The Press Pass column (usually) drops Fridays and the show airs on iHeart NH Saturday and Sunday at 11a. Chris also covers the Patriots for WBZ-Boston's News Radio and host's New Hampshire Today weekdays from 6-9a on iHeart NH.


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