Patriots' Jacoby Brissett addresses 'soft' controversy after upset win over Jets

First-year New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo raised eyebrows when he said following the club's Week 7 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars that he felt New England was "a soft football team."

Quarterback Jacoby Brissett spoke about Mayo's controversial comment after Brissett guided the Patriots to a surprising 25-22 home win over the New York Jets (2-6) on Sunday afternoon.

"You just take it and you essentially have to prove him wrong," Brissett told NFL/Patriots insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. "I think the guys, throughout the week of preparation, went out and responded the right way. Today was the fruit of the labor. Hearing that, nobody wants to be called that, especially as a team."

Mayo attempted to clarify his original comment multiple times last week, but it was subsequently said he was not "assured of a second season" in his role with the club at 1-6. Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick criticized Mayo during media appearances leading up to the Jets game, but New England players suggested throughout the week that they had Mayo's back. 

"I don’t know what Bill said," Brissett told Breer. "That’s between them two. The guys wanted to come out here and respond. We’re not coming out here to lose. We’re trying to win. Things haven’t gone our way the last couple weeks. I think today was a testament of what we’ve been building." 

Brissett started for the Patriots in their Week 3 24-3 loss at the Jets last month. He was called into action on Sunday after rookie Drake Maye was sidelined in the game's second quarter due to a concussion, and Brissett ultimately completed 15-of-24 passes for 132 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions versus Gang Green. Most importantly, he engineered two fourth-quarter scoring drives, the last of which New England finished with just 22 seconds remaining in regulation. 

"It’s being ready to go at any moment’s notice," Brissett said about taking over for Maye against the Jets. "When these opportunities come up, it’s even better when you can go out there and, I don’t want to say prove people wrong, but I would say prove yourself right." 

Maye's status for Sunday's game between the 2-6 Patriots and 1-6 Tennessee Titans at Tennessee's Nissan Stadium was unknown as of Monday morning. At that same time, DraftKings Sportsbook listed New England as a three-point underdog against the Titans.