New England Patriots-New Orleans Saints Notebook: Mac Jones, Offensive Line Again Inept in Lopsided Loss

The New England Patriots suffered their second consecutive demoralizing loss, using a familiar, failing formula against the New Orleans Saints.

FOXBORO — As many throughout the country begin to celebrate the Halloween season, the New England Patriots are becoming increasingly lost in their own "House of Horrors."

Quarterback Mac Jones completed only 12 of 22 pass attempts for 110 yards with two interceptions (one of which was returned for a touchdown) before being relegated to the bench for the second straight week. New England once again looked futile in all three phases as they suffered a blowout 34-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 5 at Gillette Stadium. 

New England has fallen to 1-4 for the first time since 2000, while coach Bill Belichick has suffered the two worst losses of his coaching career in consecutive weeks. 

Accordingly, the questions surrounding the future of a once-proud franchise will only intensify in the coming days and weeks. From the future of Jones as New England's starting quarterback to the serving size of blame pie afforded to coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots must start providing answers.

Mac Jones Made the Worst of a Bad Situation

Despite a collective commitment from Pats players and coaches to get back on track after a demoralizing loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4, Sunday's matchup with the Saints brought more of the same for Jones. In addition to earning a dismal 30.5 rating in Week 5, Jones once again committed three costly turnovers, all of which resulted in New Orleans scores. Along with the aforementioned pick-six to Saints' safety Tyrann Mathieu, Jones also committed a third-quarter fumble, which resulted in a New Orleans field goal. Lastly, Jones tossed a second interception in his final series, thus facilitating another New Orleans touchdown drive. Pats backup quarterback Bailey Zappe took over with 12:55 left in the fourth quarter. 

While some of the blame may justly be placed on an ineffective offensive line, as well as poor performance from his pass-catchers, Jones' inability to make sound decisions when most needed has caused an obvious regression — especially within the past two games. Having been under pressure on more than 45 percent of his throws, Jones had insufficient time to operate. As a result, he had little-to-no choice but to force the ball into bad situations, especially with the Saints defenders taking away his preferred routes and targets. Ultimately, Jones' discomfort in the pocket has led to a foundering of both his confidence and his mechanics. New England's coaching staff must prioritize their attempts to repair both his timing and process. If they are unable to do so, the Pats may have no choice but to make an in-season change at quarterback. 

New England Patriots QB Mac Jones / MANDATORY CREDIT: BRIAN FLUHARTY-USA TODAY SPORTS

Offensive Line Woes Remain

Though Jones will undoubtedly bear the brunt of the blame for the Pats on-field struggles, discounting the inept nature of the situation around him is both unfair and short-sighted. The offensive line featured Trent Brown at left tackle, Atonio Mafi at left guard, David Andrews at center, Michael Onwenu at right guard and Vederian Lowe at right tackle. With inadequate protection from the offensive line, pressure arrived on Jones' metaphoric doorstep on nearly half of his snaps. With time winding down in the first half, Saints' defenders Carl Ganderson (solo) and the combination of Tanoah  Kpassagnon and Cameron Jordan logged sacks on the Pats beleaguered quarterback. 

At the end of the day, the line allowed a 45.8 percent pressure rate on Jones' 24 drop-backs. Per Patriots.com, Sunday marked the third-straight week New England's unit has been over 43 percent. Lowe allowed a sack and four hurries, while Mafi, surrendered a team-high six quarterback pressures. In addition to making life much tougher for Jones, the offensive line struggled to adequately block for the Pats rushers, who were stuffed on five of their 17 runs. 

In the final analysis, both injury and inconsistency have New England still searching for a cohesive, five-man unit capable of providing the type of necessary protection and blocking needed to turn things around on offense. 

Next Man ... Not Quite Up

With linebacker Matthew Judon likely out until December with a torn biceps tendon, New England faced the unenviable task of replacing arguably their top defender. Anfernee Jennings and Josh Uche manned edges on Sunday, with defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. playing the interior alongside the defensive tackles. As expected, rookie Keion White was also given some reserve looks at linebacker.

Still, New England struggled to generate a consistent pass rush. The Pats registered only two sacks on New Orleans quarterback Derek Carr, one from linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley and the other coming on a coverage sack from cornerback Myles Bryant. The Pats defensive front failed to generate any additional quarterback hits or tackles for loss. While the personnel are unlikely to change heading into Week 6, the Pats found out firsthand just how difficult it will be to replicate Judon's prowess in their defensive front. 

Historically Bad

While losing consecutive games is far from being a reason to forfeit the remainder of the season, the manner in which New England has dropped back-to-back contests places the current iteration among the lowest of historical lows in franchise history.

Sunday's 34-0 drubbing was the team's worst shutout loss since dropping a 52-0 to the eventual undefeated Miami Dolphins in 1972.

For the first time since 1970, the Pats have lost two sequential matchups by greater than 30 points. The then-Boston Patriots lost their Week 7 game 45-10 to the Buffalo Bills, while falling 31-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals in Week 8. Sunday's game marked the first time under Belichick that the team has been held to a total of three points combined in back-to-back games.

New England was also on the wrong side of recent history from an NFL standpoint. The Pats became the first team to suffer at least a 30-point defeat since 2019, when the Oakland Raiders, Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins all succumbed to the same fate.

Up Next: 

The Patriots travel west to Sin City for a Week 6 matchup with old friend Josh McDaniels and the Las Vegas Raiders. Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m. ET from Allegiant Stadium.

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