The New England Patriots made no secret of their intentions for the 2024 season. They wanted to rely on their running game on offense while being steadfast against the run on defense.

And while they showed some encouraging signs in both of those areas at the start of the year, they've been struggling a lot in both areas lately. Sunday's 20-17 overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans was the latest collapse in that regard, leading head coach Jerod Mayo to openly question his team's attitude and mentality.

“I always felt that it was all about the attitude of stopping the run and letting the ball run. It starts with your attitude. “It starts with the mentality,” Mayo said after the game. “We just have to get better on both sides.”

It's nothing new for Mayo to address the Patriots' lack of efficiency in the run game. The rookie head coach called his team “soft throughout” after a Week 7 loss to another AFC South team, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Facing the Titans, who had only one win, the Patriots once again looked suspect in that regard.

On offense, they once again had major problems moving the ball on the floor. Aside from quarterback Drake Maye finding scrambling lanes — he finished the game with 95 yards rushing on eight of those runs — New England's running game was once again all but nonexistent on Sunday.

Running backs Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson and JaMycal Hasty combined for 12 carries, resulting in a net gain of just 15 yards. While Stevenson reached the end zone once, the team's underperformance once again led to its ultimate demise.

“You have to be able to play football, obviously that was disappointing,” said Mayo.

“We have to be able to push people off the line. I thought their defensive line did a good job. They were tough to handle inside, especially (Jeffery Simmons), and we knew that going into the game. You just have to be able to get up. Every team we play is going to have either good edge rushers or good interior rushers, we just have to do a better job of getting those guys off the ball.”

The Patriots' problems with the running game started at the top, where the team once again decided to reshuffle the cards. Instead of using last week's starting offensive line of Vederian Lowe, Michael Jordan, Ben Brown, Michael Onwenu and Demontrey Jacobs, the team decided to use rookie Layden Robinson at right guard and move Onwenu back to his former spot at right tackle.

The new-look lineup struggled and Robinson was pulled late in the second quarter. At that point, New England had gained a total of 8 yards on five runs without a scramble – a sign of things to come the rest of the afternoon.

As a result, excluding Maye Scramble drills, the Patriots have now failed to surpass 100 yards in four straight games and six of nine overall this season. For a team that pins its hopes on the current game during the squad building phase, this has to be one of the biggest disappointments yet.

If the mentality and attitude has to change on offense, this obviously also applies to defense.

“A leaky run defense again,” Mayo said. “There were times when it went back to the basics. We spend a lot of time talking about the Xs and Os, but I thought the tackling still needs improvement. That’s part of it.”

When the Patriots are in a cold spell on offense, their run defense works in Antarctic temperatures. Since losing linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley in Week 2, the unit has not held an opponent under 100 rushing yards – an active streak of seven such games, including the Titans' 39-carry, 167-yard outing on Sunday.

New England's run defense was already inconsistent in regulation, but seemed to trend in the right direction as the game progressed. After giving up 81 yards on 15 carries in the first half, the unit increased to 44 yards on 15 carries in the second.

In overtime, however, any signs of progress quickly disappeared: Titans running backs Tony Pollard and Julius Chestnut combined for eight carries and 41 yards, setting up the game-winning field goal. Tennessee's ability to rely on its running game in the 10-minute period left just 2:32 on the clock when Drake Maye and the New England offense regained possession.

“It was very tough,” Jerod Mayo said of the Titans’ overtime field goal drive. “We’ll watch the film and see what happened, but it was tough. These long drives have hurt us at times this year.”

For linebacker Jahlani Tavai, who played one of his best games of the season on Sunday, there's really no secret when it comes to New England's run defense. It's about sticking to a New England staple.

“We just have to keep doing our job. Our jobs are not just our tasks. It's about tackling, it's about getting all eleven hats to the ball. “It's scary when you're making a movie and you see 11 guys at the ball,” he explained.

“Whether it’s a punt or a kickoff, the moments we face that returner are scary. That's something we need to build and have play-to-play on the defensive side. I have nothing but faith and trust in these guys. We’re going to make sure we get it right.”

The Patriots have not been able to do that so far. And with their season now halfway over, one has to wonder if they ever will.

Unless they find a way to change their attitude and mentality – if their head coach is to be believed.