AFC Notes: Josh Allen, Jerod Mayo, Garrett Wilson, Bills, Jets, Patriots

Bills

Bills QB Josh Allen finished with two rushing touchdowns in Week 17 but struggled in the early part of the game with just 45 total yards and an interception to end the first half.

“That was one of the longest quarters I’ve ever been a part of,” Allen said during his press conference. “Three possessions down there in the first quarter and we only scored one touchdown. That’s not good enough on our end. We got to be better prepared to go and get six and seven there. We lucked out. Our defense played a heck of a game and we got to just try to find a way to win.”

“I obviously would love to have a home game in the playoffs,” Allen added. “Would love to get in the playoffs, so that’s first and foremost. [We’re] just doing whatever we can do to give ourselves a chance of getting in.”

Jets

Jets WR Garrett Wilson will finish out his second NFL season and has once again reached 1,000 receiving yards on the season. So far, Wilson has caught passes from seven quarterbacks, had two offensive coordinators and had to learn two playbooks. He admitted that the is unsure what will happen in the future after his contract is up.

“I don’t know what the future holds,” Wilson told Rich Cimini of ESPN. “I know I’m here for four or five years and I’m going to do my part to try and make this thing turn over as far as what it’s been up to this point. We have to fix it. We have to play better. We have to win games. We have to do a lot of things better, and I’m a main proponent of that. I’ve got to do my part.”

“I don’t know what the future holds,” Wilson added. “My No. 1 focus is being the best version of me and finding a way to make this organization and make this team be proud of the person they drafted. And, hopefully, we can win some games.”

 Veteran Jets LB C.J. Mosley is concerned about Wilson losing patience with the team and eventually deciding he wants to play elsewhere.

“I mean, that’s a real thing, so it’s definitely not a ‘no’ answer,” Mosley told ESPN. “Can it happen? Yes, but do I think it will? That depends on the people in this room, in this building. I feel like he does a great job of being a man, on and off the field. The way the season’s been going, he probably would say it was a disappointing year in his eyes. Anybody can easily jump off the bandwagon, but we’ve never really seen him act that way, even when times have been rough for him. So, as a teammate, as a man, I respect him for that.”

Patriots

When ships go down, they start springing leaks. And that’s exactly what’s happened as the Patriots’ season has sunk lower and lower. One of the latest is a report from Greg Bedard that Patriots LB coach Jerod Mayo, who signed an extension this offseason to stay in New England as the presumed heir to HC Bill Belichick, has been rubbing some people in the building the “wrong way” and isn’t the lock to replace Belichick that many people thought. 

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, who has strong Patriots sources, added some context. 

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Breer said during an NBC Sports Boston appearance. “I don’t think that that’s really what it is. This is a weird time in that organization right now. The way that it’s been described to me over the last few weeks is, basically, you have one guy at the very top of the masthead — and that’s Bill Belichick. And he’s operating like nothing’s wrong. … Everything is as if he’s gonna be there in 2024. Meanwhile, you’ve got everyone underneath him who has no idea what’s going on. No idea where this thing’s going. So, it has created a little awkwardness inside the walls of Gillette Stadium. And of course, part of all of that is the fact that there’s the assumption that Jerod Mayo’s gonna be the next head coach.

“And one thing that people have noticed is they have these accountability meetings, where they hold everybody accountable after the game. It’s something they’ve done for years and years and years. So, this isn’t new. But one thing that people I talked to at least have noticed, is how (Belichick) has been every bit as hard on the defense as he has been on the offense. The defense, of course, has played a lot better than the offense. (Belichick’s) actually doing a lot of his work right now on the offensive side of the ball. He’s worked a lot more with the offensive line since Adrian Klemm took leave. So, there are some people in the building who have taken that as, ‘Oh, well, you’re taking shots at the defense. Are those shots at Jerod?’ So, just a weird time in general. But that is one thing that has stuck out, is how he’s been every bit as hard on the defense as he has been on the offense even though the defense has outplayed the offense on the field.”

• Mayo said reports had to be “leaked” but has also had a period of “self-reflection” following their release. (Karen Guregian)
• Mayo on the reports: “When those sources come out, you look around like, ‘who would say something like that?'” (Mark Daniels)