It was a tough day at the office for Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt during and after Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals.

Not only did the CBS broadcast show Robert and Jonathan Kraft visibly frustrated (and talking about play-calling, per lip-readers) while the Patriots’ offense was on the field, but Jerod Mayo seemingly took a shot at Van Pelt after the game (though he walked his comments back Monday) and players were questioning some of the OC’s decisions after the game.

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Quarterback Drake Maye stuck up for Van Pelt during his weekly interview with WEEI on Monday.

“What he’s done for my development has been huge for me,” Maye said. “I credit AVP and TC (McCartney) and the quarterback room for helping me prepare every week and still taking every week — even with our record — every week like it’s a big one for us. I really respect that, and I really appreciate for them taking a chance on me along with the rest of the franchise. A lot of things to look forward to, and I’ve been a big fan of AVP and how he’s handled my approach.

“Shoot, this is only our eighth or ninth game together, so we’re still figuring each other out and kind of how he’s calling it and how much input he wants me to kind of help him with. It’s been nice trying to find that, and I think we’re not far from it.”

Mayo was asked Sunday if the team considered running Maye in a critical short-yardage situation, and the head coach answered, “You said it. I didn’t.” It was seemingly implied that Mayo would have run Maye on third-or-fourth-and-1.

Mayo said he didn’t mean anything by it and that it was a “defensive response.”

Maye said Sunday that he was a good quarterback sneaker in college, though he noted Monday that he understands why the team would want to be protective of him, and mentioned the concussion he had earlier in the season.

“Obviously with our record, I can see why they may not want to run me in there and run me inside the tackles,” Maye said. “I think it’s definitely understandable. In gotta-have-it moments, I’m fully up for whatever they ask me to do offensively. I think me taking it can be an advantage for us, but at the same time I kind of understand where they’re coming from. I can understand their thought process behind it. There’s a lot of football hopefully left in my career.

“I think kind of going to them now and saying, ‘Hey, let’s run some QB power’ is not really the smartest thing to do.”