For the first time since Pete Carroll walked off the field at old Foxboro Stadium on Jan. 2, 2000, someone not named Bill Belichick donned a headset as Patriots head coach. Jerod Mayo had big shoes to fill.
And when New England upset Cincinnati on Sunday, his shoes were ruined by blue Gatorade.
“That was my first Gatorade bath. It was cold,” said Mayo, moments after owner Robert Kraft presented him with the game ball for his first win, 16-10 at Paycor Stadium. “I feel worse for my shoes.”
The bath may have been cold, but the message was warm, said former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson, who helped the Patriots to their first three Super Bowl victories under Belichick. Johnson said on NBC Sports Boston that the blue energy drink sent a player message.
“I loved it,” said Johnson on Patriots Postgame Live. “You know what it is right there? You can say, ‘It’s the first game. What are we doing here?’ They are telling the rest of us what they feel about their head coach. That’s what they’re telling us by doing the Gatorade bath.”
Running back Rhamondre Stevenson told the NFL he’s ready to carry the load if the Patriots are going to return to the playoffs. The fourth-year back matched a career best with 25 carries and his 125 rushing yards were his second-best effort. He scored the first points of the Mayo era, a statement 3-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.
Stevenson’s play wasn’t his only talking. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett was all ears.
“Rhamondre said, ‘I don’t want to run outside zone anymore. I want to run downhill,'” Brissett revealed following the game, per the Patriots’ official website. “That’s what we did.”
Mayo is expected to have a new pair of shoes when the Stevenson and the Patriots (1-0) return home for a Week 2 date with Seattle (1-0) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX).