Blowouts Have Consequences: Chargers Make The Playoffs And Patriots Coach Jerod Mayo On Hot Seat

Blowouts in the NFL come with ramifications and consequences, and so we present the Los Angeles Chargers' 40-7 dismantling of the New England Patriots on Saturday.

The ramifications of this Chargers' victory include that they are in the playoffs. This is a huge deal for a franchise that fired its head coach last year, replaced him with Jim Harbaugh, and is now in the postseason for only the third time in 11 years.

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Bad Look For Jerod Mayo

The consequences may fall to Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo, who entered Saturday's game with a seemingly comfortable opportunity to keep his job beyond this year despite a 3-12 record. But after this loss in which the Patriots seem at a historic low, well, we'll see.

"This is what I told the players, there's really nothing good to take out of that game today," Mayo said afterward. 

What else could he say when fans were chanting to have Mayo fired in the second half. Yes, it was that ugly. 

"Look, you hear those things," Mayo admitted. "But at the same time, they paid to sit in those seats and we've got to play better. If we play better, we don't have to hear that stuff."

After the season, Mayo and club owner Robert Kraft will meet to evaluate everything – including the coach and his staff.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Derius Davis #12 of the Los Angeles Chargers celebrates after catching a touchdown pass during the first quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 28, 2024. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Patriots Bad On Offense And Defense

And, no, Kraft doesn't want to fire Mayo after one season. But this was bad. And a similar performance in which the offense sputters, the defense offers no pass rush and couples that with poor coverage, would make that evaluation really rough for Mayo.

"I'm always under pressure and it's been that way for a very long time, not just when I became the head coach of the Patriots. I'm OK. And, look, I'm always going to do what's in the best interest of the team." 

The Chargers were the third team to score their highest points of the season against New England.

The Chargers organization never said it had a complete team when the season began, but Harbaugh said the culture was already in place for the team to compete for the playoffs and someday play for championships.

Mission accomplished. 

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers looks on during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 28, 2024. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Jim Harbaugh: ‘Onward’

"Now onward," Harbaugh said afterward. "Onward and keep grinding. I never like to lighten up. Tighten up. Tighten up. As we move forward that's our mission now."

The Chargers are in the playoffs but could be the No. 5 seed if they win next week at the Raiders in their season-finale. They'd need some help from other teams, but the No. 5 seed would play at the Houston Texans in the wild card round of the playoffs.

And the Texans have been unable to rise to playoff-caliber competition the past two weeks against the Chiefs and Ravens despite winning the AFC South. So the 10-win Chargers have a new goal.

"Eleven sounds better than 10," Harbaugh said. "So we're going to get ourselves prepared for the next game."

The Chargers predictably got a good performance from quarterback Justin Herbert.

Justin Herbert Season-High TD Passes

Herbert threw 3 TD passes. It was his first game of the season with three scoring passes.

And in the process, Herbert also became the NFL's passing yards leader the first five seasons of his career, eclipsing Hall of Famer Peyton Manning who held the mark with 20,618 yards.

Herbert has done this with a receiver corps that is by no means premier. The Chargers this year moved on from veterans Keenan Allen and Mike Williams for salary cap reasons.

First round pick Ladd McConkey has been good as a rookie. But Quentin Johnston has had a love-hate relationship with his hands based on his penchant for dropping passes. And Joshua Palmer, who has been unremarkable as the third option.

None of that mattered this day. The Chargers threw the football 38 times. Herbert completed 68.4 percent of those attempts.

And it was testament that the Chargers are looking like a playoff team. And the Patriots have problems all over the place – perhaps even on the coaching staff.