In Brief: Patriots fire head coach Mayo
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots have fired coach Jerod Mayo after one season, beginning another reboot for the franchise just a year after it parted with longtime coach Bill Belichick.
Owner Robert Kraft announced the firing in a statement shortly after New England closed its 4-13 season with a 23-16 win over the Buffalo Bills.
Kraft called it “one of the hardest decisions” he’s had to make.
A former Patriots linebacker who worked as an assistant under Belichick, Mayo started the season with a strong endorsement from Kraft.
But he struggled to get the most out of a young roster that included rookie quarterback Drake Maye.
BUCCANEERS LOCK UP NFC SOUTH
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinched the NFC South and the Washington Commanders locked up the NFC’s No. 6 seed.
A 27-19 comeback victory over New Orleans for Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans and the Buccaneers secured the NFC’s final playoff spot.
The Denver Broncos were playing to lock up the AFC’s last opening.
Tampa Bay’s win eliminated Atlanta, which lost to Carolina in overtime. The Buccaneers will be the NFC’s No. 3 seed if the Los Angeles Rams lose to Seattle.
If the Rams win, they’ll be the fourth seed. The Commanders beat Dallas 23-19 behind backup quarterback Marcus Mariota’s two touchdown passes.
TITANS LAND NO. 1 DRAFT PICK
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — C.J. Stroud completed all six of his passes for 50 yards and a touchdown Sunday on the Texans’ opening drive before going to the bench as Houston snapped a two-game skid going into the AFC playoffs with a 23-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans.
The Texans also avoided being swept by the team they replaced in Houston.
Now they wait to see if they host either the Los Angeles Chargers or Pittsburgh in a wild-card game.
The Titans’ loss combined with New England’s win over Buffalo ends Tennessee’s season of misery with the No. 1 pick overall in the NFL draft in April. The Cleveland Browns locked up the No. 2 pick while the Giants will pick No. 3.
GENO AURIEMMA ENCOURAGED
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Geno Auriemma has seen more than his fair share of “freaky” injuries over the last few years.
When UConn star guard Paige Bueckers went down with a knee injury late in the third quarter going for a loose ball on Sunday, he hoped this wouldn’t be another one of those.
The early reports the Hall of Fame coach said of the severity of it were encouraging. Bueckers had 15 points and nine assists before getting hurt.
The injury occurred in the same knee that she tore her ACL in 2022.