Patriots Coach Jerod Mayo has said he reserves the right to change his mind. He’s done it again after New England’s 19-3 win over the Bears on Sunday afternoon.

Mayo began Monday morning’s video conference call with reporters saying that Sunday’s win reminded him of the Patriots’ Week 1 victory over the Bengals.

“We’re at this point in the season, this is who we are. We have to go out there, we have to control the line of scrimmage, we have to be able to run the ball, we have to stay ahead of the sticks, we have to play good defense, we have to get off the field on third down, which we did yesterday by a mix of generating pressure and also coverage, and play good special teams,” Mayo said.

“This is the formula. As I always say, I use this as a microphone not only to give you guys information, but also to talk to the players. So, players, this is how we need to play going forward.”

Rewind to last month, however, and Mayo said at the time that he had realized that playing style was “unsustainable.”

“We knew going into the season we would take our lumps, and even after the first game when we beat Cincinnati, we understood that this is unsustainable as far as winning that way,” Mayo said after the Patriots lost 30-13 to the 49ers in Week 4.

When asked why he changed his mind about whether the Patriots’ formula of controlling the line of scrimmage and time of possession was sustainable, Mayo said that it’s now “a totally different point of the season.”

“Last week I went back and watched the first three games of the season and just tried to pull out the things that we did well and the things that people were attacking us on,” Mayo said. “Now, I said that weeks ago at the start of the season, and now – again, reserving the right to change my mind – we can do it. We can do it, and that’s what we did last night.

“Hopefully, that’s what we do going forward. I would say just overall, just the physicality of that game compared to this game. I think that’s – when I say unsustainable back then or sustainable, whatever, it’s really the physicality part of it that we need to continue to build on, which I would say is sustainable.”

The Patriots emphasized physicality last week in practice, kicking off the competitive part of last Wednesday’s session with a run blocking/run defense drill that seemed to pay off for both sides of the line.

The Patriots gained 144 yards and 4.1 yards per carry on the ground – a significant improvement from past weeks – and allowed just 73 rushing yards and 3.6 yards per carry to the Bears.

The Patriots’ pass defense was also dominant, sacking Bears quarterback Caleb Williams nine times through the help of the secondary, which limited the rookie No. 1 overall pick to just 120 passing yards with sticky coverage on an impressive wide receiver trio of D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze.

THE PATRIOTS BENCHED veteran wide receiver Kendrick Bourne on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stay out of the offensive game plan.

Mayo was asked Monday if he plans to continue playing young wide receivers over Bourne.

“My goal as the head coach is to put the players out there that give us the best chance to win,” Mayo said. “(Patriots Executive Vice President of Player Personnel) Eliot (Wolf) and his staff, they have the hard part of trying to get the roster as well as we can get it now, but also looking for the future. Ultimately, it’s my decision and my decision on a week-after-week basis to put the best players out there that give us the best chance to win.”

Kayshon Boutte led Patriots wide receivers with 62 of 64 possible snaps. Veteran K.J. Osborn was second with 29 snaps, followed by DeMario Douglas with 27 snaps, Ja’Lynn Polk with 26 snaps and Javon Baker with four snaps.

“It’s always been about competition,” Mayo said on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” “I said that all the way back in training camp. It’s about competition and who has that better week of practice and who has that better week in the walk-throughs and the meeting rooms. That’s what it is.”

Overall, Mayo was happy with how the Patriots’ wide receivers performed, praising their blocking and their ability to get open and catch the ball.

Douglas led the group with four catches for 50 yards. Boutte had four catches for 47 yards, and Polk scored on a 2-yard touchdown reception.

THE PATRIOTS EXPERIMENTED with playing Mike Onwenu, who has flipped between right guard and right tackle, at left guard in practice last week. Onwenu wound up staying at right guard, leaving Michael Jordan at left guard.

“It just goes back to what’s the best lineup that gives us the best opportunity to get movement up front and protect the quarterback, and that’s what we thought we were doing,” Mayo said of sticking with Onwenu at right guard. “That was the idea behind it.”

If Onwenu had moved to left guard, then rookie Layden Robinson would have started in his place at right guard.

THE PATRIOTS HAVE been shuffling snaps at backup running back this season between Antonio Gibson, who played more heavily early in the season, and JaMycal Hasty, who primarily played in reserve of starter Rhamondre Stevenson on Sunday.

“I would just say all three of those backs bring something different to the table,” Mayo said. “Again, just the last couple of weeks, it was more of a Hasty game than a Gibby game. Look, that is a week-after-week discussion, not only at the back spot, but at multiple positions on this team.”