Following a 35-point loss in Dallas last week, the Patriots’ worst of the Bill Belichick era, New England was handed another mortifying defeat in a 34-0 pummeling at home against the Saints.
The offense committed three turnovers, including a pick-six on just the second offensive possession, and averaged just 3.4 yards per play in a scoreless outing. Mac Jones wasn’t as bad as he was against the Cowboys, but he started the game with some rough passes and essentially gave New Orleans the ball after throwing behind Rhamondre Stevenson on a toss. That said, the offensive line did him no favors and constantly undermined positive plays. After starting the game with Cole Strange inactive and losing Mike Onwenu early on, New England’s front allowed two sacks, four hits, and three tackles for loss. Even veterans David Andrews and Trent Brown had some truly ugly losses. A struggling receiver group also took hits after losing Demario Douglas and JuJu Smith-Schuster to head injuries, and Kendrick Bourne made some big catches but was flagged for two false starts.
The defense entered this contest in a tough spot with Christian Gonzalez done for the season and Matt Judon out for at least the foreseeable future. J.C. Jackson and Jonathan Jones were also limited as they worked their way back from injuries, and the offense handed its defense bad field positions multiple times. Still, this game was littered with fundamental errors that kept New Orleans on the field, and self-inflicted errors did more to stop the Saints’ offense than the defense’s own efforts.
It was also a rough outing for special teams with a missed Chad Ryland field goal, some poor snaps from Joe Cardona, and Matthew Slater being called for a penalty after being out of bounds for too long on a punt.
The Patriots have entered uncharted territory, playing some of their worst football in games that they simply cannot afford to lose. Now, facing a 1-4 record, it’s likely that tough decisions and significant change are on the horizon. Here are my key takeaways from the Patriots’ shutout loss.
Same Old Story for a Woeful Patriots Offense
Once again, the Patriots’ offense seemed incapable of starting fast, protecting the football, or stringing together positive plays. After going three-and-out on their opening drive, the Patriots offense allowed a pick-six after Mac Jones was clobbered on a checkdown attempt.
Looks like Mac Jones wanted to hit Rhamondre Stevenson with middle help taking away Hunter Henry's route, but Trent Brown lost on a twist, and the hit led to a wobbly throw pic.twitter.com/ND51ep8mbo
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 8, 2023
Things started looking up when Jones and Demario Douglas connected on a 24-yard pass that was boosted by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty when Marshon Lattimore hit Douglas in the head.
Catch ruling stands
Hell of a throw from Mac and a great effort from Douglas securing it through a hit to the head pic.twitter.com/7TkyE64gzX
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 8, 2023
But following a 4-yard loss on the ground and quick 3rd & 11 pressure forcing a throw well short of the sticks, Chad Ryland missed a 48-yard field goal attempt to keep the offense off the scoreboard.
New England had another glimmer of hope down 21 points during a 2-minute drive, with Jones completing a sideline throw to DeVante Parker and hitting Kendrick Bourne on back-to-back first downs. But that momentum was thwarted by consecutive sacks, with Vederian Lowe splitting responsibility on both takedowns to knock the offense out of field goal range.
The #Patriots offense finally started stringing positive pass plays together, then back-to-back sacks allowed killed the drive
Vederian Lowe wasn’t the only one who took Ls, but he lost almost immediately on both. NE options aren’t great right now with both starting guards hurt pic.twitter.com/Frawlx01AF
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 8, 2023
The wheels seemed to completely fall off when Jones botched a pitch attempt with the Patriots in their tush push formation, which Rhamondre Stevenson couldn’t bring in, and Cameron Jordan fell on to steal possession in New England territory.
Pats fans: Please stop trying the tush push
The Pats: pic.twitter.com/x98QUT90S1
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 8, 2023
The offense went on to have a pass batted on 3rd & short the next drive, then went three-and-out when a 5-yard run stuff to start the next possession led to a failed 3rd & 12 attempt. Belichick seemingly waved the white flag after a bobbled Ty Montgomery pass resulted in an interception, which led to Bailey Zappe taking over at quarterback.
Zappe didn’t provide the breath of fresh air Patriots fans may have hoped for, as he sailed two passes to wide-open receivers and failed to pick up any 1st downs on the next four possessions.
Saints Miscues Mask Poor Defensive Performance
There was no shortage of adversity for the Patriots’ defense today, but a group that was expected to lead this team turned in its worst performance of the season with self-inflicted errors. New England’s most glaring issues, in both phases of the game, were poor pursuit angles and tackling, with Saints ball-carriers turning what should’ve been short or modest gains into bigger plays.
The Patriots’ ailing pass coverage allowed multiple big catches to open receivers, leading an injured Derek Carr to post a 114.7 passer rating. Judon’s loss was also felt throughout the game, with Carr having plenty of time to throw on some dropbacks.
Saints receivers seemed to exploit #Patriots zone coverage on both of their big pass plays that drive pic.twitter.com/Tk95igKMEy
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 8, 2023
New Orleans’ ground game averaged just 3.2 yards per carry, but Alvin Kamara and company seemed to get the yards whenever they needed them en route to a 132-yard yard day. The Patriots’ front was consistently blown off of the ball, and too often, offensive linemen reached the second level with ease for big gains.
A look on the brighter side shows that the Patriots forced seven punts and held the Saints to field goals on a pair of drives that started in New England territory. But the defense rarely felt in control, and the Saints had drive-killing mistakes like penalties and missed throws on nearly all of their failed possessions. The defense deserves credit for capitalizing on these errors, but a unit striving for perfection could poke plenty of holes in today’s performance.
