FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:

1. 'Fire Mayo' chants at Gillette: In the fourth quarter of the Patriots' 40-7 home loss to the Chargers on Saturday, a group of fans began chanting "Fire Mayo" inside a sparsely filled Gillette Stadium.

It was another reminder of how it has been a challenging season for first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, whose team is 3-13 and will finish with a home game against the Buffalo Bills in Week 18.

"You hear those things. But at the same time, they paid to sit in the seats, and we've got to play better," Mayo said of the chants. "If we play better, we don't have to hear that stuff."

Team owner Robert Kraft has important decisions to make on the future of Mayo and first-year executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf. It is generally out of the norm to move on after one season, but there also needs to be tangible evidence that things are headed in the right direction.

Is a Week 1 win at Cincinnati that no one saw coming enough of a feather in Mayo's cap? Is a 2-6 record in one-score games -- which includes a 24-21 loss to the AFC East champion Bills last week -- enough progress?

As for Wolf, the best thing he has done in his first year in charge of personnel is deliver promising quarterback Drake Maye with the No. 3 overall pick. Does that alone make him safe? The rest of the draft class has been shaky, particularly at two of the team's top areas of need -- receiver and offensive line. Likewise, Wolf's initial free agent class has delivered mixed results.

Entering Sunday, the Patriots own the No. 2 pick in the 2025 draft, and they are among the league leaders in salary cap space, which heightens the urgency for Kraft to get it right.

In the locker room Saturday after the loss to the Chargers, one of Mayo's captains stood behind him.

"I think he's doing a great job, keeping us motivated and prepared and locked in on our goals every week," veteran defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr. said. "It's up to the players. Coaches coach, players play. I only speak about myself, and I felt like there were a lot of games I could have played better to help the team win. I feel like Mayo is putting people in the right positions, he's very positive but also criticizes people in a motivating way.

"I don't think we should write him off right now. A lot of coaches start off tough, but there are multiple coaches who are OK now and in the playoffs. I feel like we need to continue to believe in Coach and he'll find a way to make everything right next year."

Veteran defensive tackle Davon Godchaux had a fiery response to the "Fire Mayo" chants.

"The guy's in his first season. It's not going to be golden. We didn't expect to win a Super Bowl this year. I get it, nobody wants to get beaten 40-7, but the chant is ridiculous," he said.

"Everybody plays a part in this. It isn't just Jerod Mayo. Players. Coaches. Front office. We just have to get better as a whole organization. I believe in this organization. We just had probably the best team in the NFL right now on the ropes last week [in Buffalo]. I don't believe in all that other ridiculous stuff. The guy is in his first year. It's just ridiculous."

Likewise, Maye said he believes he's getting coached as hard as he was in Week 1, while nine-year veteran cornerback Jonathan Jones cited last week's game against the Bills, noting how well prepared the Patriots were.

"I think they've done a good job this whole season, but I think as players we've come up short," Jones said. "Some coaches have come up short, if I'm being honest with you all. So we all take accountability on the season we put out there."

It's the type of season that usually leads to change in some form. After Saturday's embarrassing loss to the Chargers, the chants from the crowd and the prospect of another half-filled stadium next week, questions about what that potential change could look like are intensifying.

2. RB surprise: Mayo had said in a pregame radio interview Saturday that Antonio Gibson would start at running back after Rhamondre Stevenson had fumbled for an NFL-high seventh time in Week 16. But when the game began, it was Stevenson getting the start.

By the end of the contest, Gibson had a slight edge in snaps played with 29 (12 carries for 63 yards), while Stevenson played 24 snaps (two carries for 1 yard). 

Afterward, Mayo said it was a "coaches decision" and wouldn't elaborate if something happened between the interview and game time to change his mind or if perhaps there was a breakdown in communication with his message.

3. Maye's health: Maye had a scary moment Saturday when Chargers defensive back Cam Hart's helmet made contact with his helmet on a running play early in the first quarter. Maye remained down briefly and said, "Sometimes, you get your bell rung, and you've got to shake back."

Maye relayed that similar to what unfolded against the Jets on Oct. 27 -- when he left the game for a concussion evaluation and didn't return -- an independent spotter called to the sideline and had him go through a concussion test. This time, Maye was cleared to return in the second quarter.

"I feel good -- I still feel good -- and then I was good to go," Maye said.

4. Risky business: Maye was kept in the game for two drives in the fourth quarter Saturday while the Patriots trailed 37-7, which Mayo explained as the Patriots "trying to develop a quarterback." Maye already had received that concussion test.

The team's top defensive player, cornerback Christian Gonzalez, had been ruled out of the game with a concussion in the second quarter, and a case could be made that nothing else trumps ensuring the health of those two franchise cornerstones.

As Maye said, "Those guys up front are battling their butts off, so I'm not going to go to the coach and say, 'Hey, take me out.' That's not me."

5. Strange's new home: Cole Strange, the 2022 first-round pick who started at center Saturday in his first action on offense since tearing a patellar tendon on Dec. 17, 2023, reported that he came out of the game healthy.

After playing exclusively at left guard in his first two seasons in the NFL, he said he is open to making center his full-time position.

"I don't think I had any bad snaps," Strange said. "I had one early in the third quarter, but that's a timing thing, and I'll fix that. I believe that most of my mistakes were more mental than technical, so I consider those easy fixes. I'm extremely confident I'm moving in the right direction."

6. Trade recap: Chargers rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey made New England pay for trading its second-round pick (No. 34) and fourth-round pick (No. 137) to Los Angeles in exchange for a second-rounder (No. 37) and a fourth-rounder (No. 110).

The Chargers took McConkey at No. 34 and cornerback Tarheeb Still at No. 137, while the Patriots selected wideouts Ja'Lynn Polk (37) and Javon Baker (110).

In a reflection of how lopsided the deal is at this point, consider that McConkey finished Saturday's game with more receiving yards (94) than Polk (87) and Baker (0) have all season. On the season, McConkey has 77 catches for 1,054 yards and seven touchdowns, while Still leads the Chargers with four interceptions.

7. Lions model: The Lions' current success -- after going 3-13-1 in coach Dan Campbell's first season in 2021 and starting the 2022 season 1-6 -- has been used recently as an example of the benefits of sticking with a young coach (such as the Patriots' Mayo).

Patriots first-year defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery was the latest to cite it, saying in the days leading up to Saturday's game: "I was in Green Bay for nine years, and Detroit was a play away in a lot of games for a long time. They got over the hump and built some confidence. It's a process. It doesn't happen overnight. We're here to make sure we take that next step and keep pushing for excellence."

8. They said it: "I feel like my two years [in the NFL], I've been losing, and it's time to make a change. We've got some pieces, we'll add more pieces next year, and I feel like we could come out and do something. I'm just tired of losing, for real." -- WR DeMario Douglas

9. Did you know? Part I: Saturday's 40-7 loss to the Chargers was the sixth-largest home defeat in Patriots history.

10. Did you know? Part II: The Patriots' loss Saturday clinches a sub-.300 win percentage in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.