CINCINNATI — Jerod Mayo had to trade a pair of shoes for a win on Sunday.

With 1:15 left in the fourth quarter and the game in hand for the Patriots, defensive tackles Davon Godchaux and Daniel Ekuale doused Mayo in a blue Gatorade shower to celebrate his first win as a head coach.

“That was my first Gatorade bath. It was cold. I felt worse for my shoes. These are done,” Mayo said smiling looking down at his Nikes after the Patriots’ 16-10 upset Week 1 win over the Bengals.

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Mayo, who never reached the status of coordinator on the Patriots’ staff before being named head coach as Bill Belichick’s successor this offseason, called an impressive game in his first time out as his team got off to a 1-0 start.

He managed the clock well at the end of both halves, draining 5:09 off the clock at the end of the second quarter before Joey Slye hit a 32-field goal as the clock expired.

And Mayo’s offense never gave the Bengals another chance at the end of the game with 2:13 on the clock as offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt called two runs on each side of the two-minute warning before quarterback Jacoby Brissett kneeled on the ball to close it out.

“I’ve been playing football for my entire life, and I was a great Madden player back in the day,” Mayo said laughing. “I understand situational football. I would also say our staff understands situational football. We talk through those things, and like I said all week, I have to make the ultimate decision and felt good about the way it operated today.”

Mayo was a hard-nosed run-stuffing middle linebacker during his playing days, so it’s unsurprising that his goal in Week 1 was to stop the Bengals’ rushing attack to make them one-dimensional on defense and to establish the run on offense.

The plan worked. The Patriots’ defense limited the Bengals to just 70 yards on 16 carries while their offense ran 39 times for 170 yards. Patriots middle linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley led the team with 12 tackles, and the offensive line, led by center David Andrews, allowed just one sack while opening up rushing lanes for running back Rhamondre Stevenson.

Andrews, who, at 32, is just six years Mayo’s junior, embraced Mayo in a big hug before the head coach took the podium.

The media actually stole a question from Andrews to ask Mayo. The starting center wanted to ask Mayo how different it feels to win as a coach.

“I can’t imagine, because you don’t have that much control,” Andrews said. “When you’re playing, you can kind of control this. But hey, it was a great job by him to get us ready this week.”

Mayo’s response?

“I talk about my calling a lot and winning as a coach is huge,” Mayo said. “Not only for what it does for me but what it does for all the players out there. I just can’t say enough about them.”

And that was Mayo’s message to players after the game when Robert Kraft presented him with a game ball.

“Without them, I’m nothing. I made sure they know that,” he said.