After a blowout loss at Gillette Stadium courtesy of the Chargers, Patriots fans were quick to express their disappointment, which went far beyond the performance on the field. The team mainly played lackluster, and a few of the most important players, most notably CB Christian Gonzalez and QB Drake Maye, suffered injuries, making the day even worse.
It should have been a winnable game for the team that just kept it close against the Bills a week before, a team that has been scoring 40+ points nearly every week (especially at home), even against their toughest opponents.
Instead, the Patriots played exactly how they had for all of the 2024 season, and once they were in the hole, there was no way of getting out. That prompted some fans in attendance to start a brutal chant aimed at Jerod Mayo, demanding the head coach be fired on top of booing the team throughout the game. It has been a debated topic once the season was clearly not going well, and the fans took it upon themselves to make sure the team and staff heard their displeasure.
Many players responded to the situation and shared their dislike of the chant in defense of their head coach. However, that's not exactly the route one Patriots captain took when talking about it on the latest episode of his podcast this week.
David Andrews understands why Patriots fans are frustrated to the point of booing at games
While going over the Patriots Week 17 loss to the Chargers on the Quick Snap podcast with Brian Hoyer, David Andrews brought up hearing the fans boo at Gillette Stadium and shared an unlikely take on the matter.
Emphasizing he doesn't love to hear it, he understands why the fans feel that way and defended their right to do so, which is not a common tactic most players take when discussing such a sensitive matter like this.
David Andrews on Pats fans booing 👀
— The Quick Snap (@quicksnappod) December 31, 2024
Full episode out now! pic.twitter.com/fwFvo9aGB1
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He makes some solid points, especially about the players and the team's responsibility to perform at a level that wouldn't prompt boos or negative chants to be heard. That's far from how the team has played this year, and Andrews acknowledging that is also significant because he has had to watch most of the season from the sidelines just like the rest of us.
There are a lot of changes that need to be made this offseason to put the team in a better place next season to compete and not be embarrassed at home every week, something that is still not sitting right with Patriots fans who remember the days of Gillette Stadium really being the definition of home field advantage.