On the heels of their second straight loss, the Patriots say they must hold themselves accountable and move forward with the end of the regular season in sight.
FOXBORO – Accountability.
That was a topic of discussion as wide receiver Chris Hogan and center David Andrews addressed the media in the Patriots' locker room at Gillette Stadium on Monday, one day after the team's latest road loss, a 17-10 defeat at Pittsburgh on Sunday.
“We still have some really important games in front of us,” said Hogan, mindful of the fact that home games with Buffalo and the New York Jets the next two Sundays remain with the AFC East division title still up for grabs. “So today is just a day to kind of reflect on what we did in the game and correct the mistakes.
“I think the big thing is just holding ourselves accountable and moving on, knowing that these next couple of games we have in front of us are very, very big games. I know the guys in this locker room and I know what type of men they are and type of players they are and I think they’re going to hold everyone accountable to going out and playing the best football we have all year.”
Fourteen Patriots penalties totaling 106 yards aided the Steelers’ cause at Heinz Field in a major way, and while Andrews didn’t put it all on the line he laid much of the blame at the big men's feet.
“It’s not good,” said Andrews. “We’re a pretty prideful group. … We’ve been letting our teammates down and it’s not easy when you’re watching the film and you’ve got a good play and you’re stopping yourself and you’re putting yourself in third and 15 and second and 15. That’s a hard way to play football.”
Indeed, much of the blame lay with the offensive line, which had three holding penalties and three false starts stepped off against it.
“Offside penalties aren’t fundamentals, necessarily, but the holdings and things like that, it’s all the result of poor fundamentals,” said Andrews, “so we have to do a better job of that and hold ourselves accountable for it.
"We just have to be better. Some of (the false start penalties) falls on me, I guess, as a center. I have to (have) good communication with (the other members of the line) ... and we just have to do a better job overall."
The loss was the second straight for the Patriots, both of those on the road (34-33 the previous week at Miami), a repeat of the two-game losing streak they suffered through in September when they rebounded from losses at Jacksonville and Detroit to win six games in a row.
Andrews wasn’t buying when asked if the “been there, done that” aspect, the bounce-back ability it showed earlier this season, would benefit his team going forward.
“I don’t think losing any games ever really helps you, so you’ve just to learn from your mistakes and move forward,” Andrews, who is one of the team's captains, said. “Unfortunately, it comes at a loss, but we’ll make it right and move forward here this week.”
Mental toughness: The term has been used frequently by football analysts breaking down the 2018 Patriots, particularly as the road losses mounted for a team that finished the regular season 3-5 away from home.
So, Coach, is this Patriots team mentally tough?
“I think it’s a tough group of players,” head coach Bill Belichick said Monday. “Like anything, like any year, there’s always room for improvement, and that’s the way it is every year. We always try to perform at our best in every area, whether that’s mental toughness, situation football, running game, passing game, kicking game, you name it.
“We always try to perform at our best and being physically and mentally tough is a big part of this game. We always try to do our best at that and there’s always room for improvement.”