One down.

177 to go.

Watch your backs, Bill Belichick and Tom Landry.

Jerod Mayo is coming for you.

The Hoodie and The Hat are tied with the most losses all-time for an NFL head coach at 178, including the postseason.

Mayo is now 1-1.

The Patriots Super Bowl countdown clock has been reset from Super Bowl 59 to Super Bowl 69.

Gronk will spike the coin toss.

New England has earned “A’s” for effort across State Run Media.

When does the “Participation 2024” banner drop at Gillette Stadium?

Sure, the Patriots are trying.

As in, “these are trying times for Jacoby Brissett and the offense.”

It’s 2024, not 1924.

You need a QB to win these days, unless you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pittsburgh has one offensive TD this season, but two wins.

While the Iron Curtain may have extended from “From Stettin in the Baltic, to Trieste in the Adriatic,” the Steel Curtain has yet to cross the Ohio, Allegheny or Monongahela rivers.

The Patriots boast an Aluminum Curtain. It got bent and broken on Sunday. Six “three-and-outs” and a missed field goal will do that.

The Patriots have since lost linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley for the season. He was their defensive fulcrum.

Remember how excited you were pondering the Patriots facing the Dolphins without Tua Tagovailoa, or the 49ers without CMC and Deebo Samuel? Unfortunately, injuries are as much part of the game as first downs and point spreads.

The universe is in constant struggle for balance.

That extends to the NFL injury report.

They lose Christian McCaffrey. You lose Ja’Whaun Bentley.

Now what?

The most pressing issue for the Patriots is the play of Aaron Rodgers tonight. The Jets QB has yet to have an “A-Rod” type game since leaving Green Bay for Gotham. He moves like the 1982 edition of Yaz. But his arm remains a rocket launcher. Still, look for lots of Breece Hall at MetLife.

The Patriots beat the Jets in 15 of their past 16 meetings. That includes games started by Cam Newton and Mac Jones.

You are their Daddy.

The scare tonight comes if the Patriots find themselves down by more than one score.

How does this team rally by throwing the ball when it’s only produced 3 catches for 16 yards by its wide receivers?

Brissett is neither the long-term, nor short-term answer. His 2024 totals: 270 yards in 51 attempts this season, compiling an anemic 79.7 rating. (But, no picks.)

The Patriots have run the ball 75 times this season. Rhamondre Stevenson has 46 carries.

That’s Fred Flintstone-level rock-toting.

It cannot last, especially with a one-dimensional offense.

It’s all so Belichickian. By the way, the Patriots 15-game win streak against the Jets ended in Week 18 last season. Belichick’s final game as HC of the NEP. In half-empty Gillette Stadium covered in a Robert Frost snowfall. The road not taken that day included Route 1.

Belichick made sure Patriots were persona non grata during the Week 1 Monday Night Football ManningCast on ESPN after their win at Cincinnati.

New England’s first game in 24 years without the Hoodie merited zero mention from the man himself.

Because they won and looked decent in doing so.

You were warned that Belichick would turn his airtime this season into an infomercial for himself and his toadies.

He did not disappoint this week. Emmy-worthy enmity.

ESPN’s audience got a glimpse of the petulant, bitter, and vindictive Belichick who charmed New England for nearly a quarter-century.

Emperor Palpatine said it best: “Let the hate flow through you.”

Belichick masterfully worked in a dig on Mayo while yapping with Peyton and Eli.

Belichick noted how the Seahawks picked up 3 points at the end of the first half Sunday in Foxboro thanks to “questionable clock management” by the Patriots.

BB threw shade at Falcons owner Arthur Blank for walking the sidelines in the 4th quarter of Super Bowl 28-3, and presumably for not hiring him this offseason.

“I also remember Blank down on the sideline in the fourth quarter — you know, celebrating when they were ahead,” Belichick said.

“You saw him?,” Peyton Manning asked.

“Well, he’s a pretty good dresser now,” Belichick said. “Arthur always looks sharp. He was down there on the sideline, and we were getting beat. I was like, ‘Jesus.’”

Belichick recapped New England’s epic comeback by lauding the coaching acumen of Joe Judge, Matt Patricia, and Josh McDaniels. Tom Brady and Julian Edelman have been memory-holed.

He was equally insidious during the “Let’s Go!” podcast on SiriusXM. Brady asked Belichick to list franchises, besides Kansas City, that “got it going” in terms of rosters. Among his picks: potential employers Dallas and Philly (both losers this week).

And the Lions.

“The Lions built a really good offensive line,” Belichick said. “That’s something that Matt Patricia started. Now they’re getting the fruits of the labor from him.”

Patricia coached the Lions from 2018-20. Of Detroit’s current OL starters, only center Frank Ragnow was drafted on Patricia’s watch (as noted by 98.5 The Sport Hub’s “Zolak and Bertrand” Tuesday).

Meanwhile, it’s been 2,419 days since we have not received an on-the-record explanation as to why Malcolm Butler only took one snap in Super Bowl 52. Butler remains No. 1 in the hearts of New England fans and was Keeper of the Light Sunday.

Another question will linger just as long: “Does Belichick consider Mayo to be part of his moss-covered, bare-branched coaching tree?”

We’ll have to wait on that answer until Mayo moves a lot closer to Belichick and Landry on the all-time losses list.

Bill Speros can be reached at bsperos1@gmail.com He posts on X @BillSperos and @RealOBF.