Was the Patriots’ aggressive first half vs. Bills enough to save Jerod Mayo?

The New England Patriots got off to a blazing hot start against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Highmark Stadium.

Down by seven at the half, the Patriots showed what they are capable of and pulled off an upset 14-0 lead over the bills on their first two drives.

The Patriots apparently wanted to keep their foot on the gas and continue to bring it to the Bills as head coach Jerod Mayo called a false punt on fourth-and-2 from deep in New England territory. Instead of snapping the ball to punter Bryce Baringer, long snapper Joe Cardona snapped the ball directly to Dell Pettus, who rushed up the middle for a first down.

Ironically, after getting the first down, Mayo chose not to go for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 34-yard line three plays later. That’s the kind of play Kayshon Boutte was hoping for during the Patriots’ Week 15 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Mayo is often grilled about the passive, questionable play calling that follows the Patriots’ games week after week. More often than not, his response is pretty much as unimaginative as the actual play that calls the field. Usually he just says he made what he thought was the right decision for the team.

While there has been public outcry about Mayo losing his job at the end of the season, Robert and Jonathan Kraft are apparently leaving the door open before making a decision on the first-year coach’s chances of returning for a second year. Was that first half enough to save Mayo from public criticism, at least for a week?