The New England Patriots were thoroughly humiliated for the second consecutive week, falling to the New Orleans Saints 34-0. Mac Jones and the offense around him had yet another subpar performance, and as a consequence, Bailey Zappe was benched for the second time.
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With a 1-4 record on the season, there are now significant doubts over New England’s future.
Everything that happened at Gillette Stadium is shown here.
Final Score: 34 Saints (3-2) 0 Patriots (1-4)
Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts, Sunday, October 8, 1:00 p.m. ET | Broadcast details | Inactives | Game day roster
Initial Quarter
Derek Carr and the Saints will take the field first in Sunday’s game after the Patriots won the coin toss and chose to defer. Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings lined up along the edge for New England, while Myles Bryant and Jonathan Jones played cornerback. Alvin Kamara had two consecutive touches to get the Saints going before Carr found Michael Thomas for 14 yards on a third-down play. Following consecutive first-downs by Carr and Kamara, Shaun Wade intercepted a ball intended for Michael Thomas, and Ja’Whaun Bentley scored on a fake pressure play for a sack on third down. Next, New Orleans punted.
The opening play of the Patriots’ game was Mac Jones’ punt, which Jabrill Peppers fair received at the six-yard line. Rhamondre Stevenson started the drive with an eight-yard run. Jones then failed to find Hunter Henry on a third-and-two down the field, forcing play-action to finish in an incompletion. After that, New England punted, but Joe Cardona’s poor snap resulted in just a 26-yard punt.
Although they began their next drive in New England territory, the Saints were unable to capitalize on their field position. After a false start, Carr’s ball to Jimmy Graham went for a third and nine, giving New Orleans the advantage. The punt rolled into the end zone from New England’s 39-yard line.
Jones saw a rerun of Dallas’ game from the previous week, and New England’s second drive of the game ended in tragedy. On third down, under duress, he tried to do too much and Tyrann Mathieu intercepted his ball, returning it 27 yards for a score. [7 Saints 0: Patriots 0]
With a 7-0 deficit, Ezekiel Elliott and Ty Montgomery combined for two touches to set up a third-and-seven for New England. Demario Douglas was put under siege when Jones lofted a throw downfield, and Douglas pulled it in for a 24-yard gain. After review and the addition of fifteen extra yards for needless roughness, the play was upheld. The New England attack was only successful up to that point, when Chad Ryland missed a 48-yard field goal to the left.
After the miss, the Saints started at their own 38-yard line, where Carr found Thomas for a 26-yard pass on third-and-11. Carr then connected with Rashid Shaheed for 25 yards two plays later to take the ball inside the ten. Kamara scored on third-and-goal, diving in for the touchdown. [14 Saints 0: Patriots]
Quarter Two
After a return by Montgomery, the Patriots began their next drive on their own 17-yard line, finding themselves once again down by ten points. They swiftly went to a three-and-out as Jones hit DeVante Parker with a jump ball that was incomplete on third down. When New England punted, Joe Cardona made yet another bad snap.
Rookie Kendre Miller broke away on a 33-yard grab and run after breaking free at their own 41-yard line. After three runs, the Saints managed to get inside the 10-yard line, and Carr hit Chris Olave for a touchdown. [21 Saints 0: Patriots 0]
Following two consecutive touches on the ground by Elliott and an unlawful use of hands penalty on the part of New Orleans, the Patriots were awarded two first downs. Then, when Jones’ third-down throw to Parker along the left sideline dropped incomplete once again, the offense stagnated.
After Baringer’s punt put New Orleans on their own 16-yard line, it took them just a few plays to drive over midfield. Carr lofted a third-down throw down field to Olave after the two-minute warning, but the receiver was unable to get both feet inbounds. Louisiana punted.
With 1:03 remaining in the half, Jones took over at their own 18, hitting Parker for 14 yards to start the drive up the sideline. After that, Jones found Bourne over the middle for fifteen yards, then on the next play, Bourne was called for pass interference for fourteen yards. After forcing the Patriots to retreat, New Orleans got home for a sack, and on third down, Jones was sacked once more. Following a timeout for New Orleans, they punted.
After just a 10-yard return, the Saints took a knee.
Quarter Three
The first half’s narrative was repeated in New England’s opening drive of the second half. They tried to mimic the “Tush Push” on third-and-one, but Stevenson was unable to contain the pitch. On the 29-yard line in New England, the Saints recovered.
Injury update: OL Mike Onwenu (ankle) is doubtful to return, while WR Demario Douglas (head) has been downgraded to out.
After the turnover, Myles Bryant scored on third down for a sack, and New England’s defense held. Blake Grupe made a fantastic 54-yard field goal. [24 Saints 0: Patriots 0]
On the first play of their subsequent drive, Jones found Bourne for 28 yards off play-action, marking the first downfield play for New England’s offense. They then chose to punt back to the Saints when faced with a fourth-and-three at the 40-yard line in New Orleans.
The Saints were unable to generate any momentum within their own 20 yards after the punt. A short completion after two runs resulted in a punt.
Mac Jones and the Patriots remained in neutral when he had the ball back. Before Jones attempted an incomplete third-down throw to Gesicki, a first-down run was blown up.
The Saints were trapped at their own five-yard line by Baringer’s 57-yard punt and hold on New Orleans. Then, Kamara broke through the middle for ten yards on a third-and-eight. New England applied pressure on the next third-and-seven, but Carr found Thomas for 13 yards right away. The Saints were then positioned close to midfield after a few runs by Kamara, and Carr successfully completed a third-down throw to force a punt.
The next drive, Jones hit Ty Montgomery off play-action on New England’s first play. However, Montgomery was struck while making the reception, sending the ball into the air where the Saints caught it and intercepted it.
Fourth Quarter: After the INT, New Orleans started at the New England 31-yard line, where Miller gained a first down on two consecutive plays. Then, after a 10-yard grab and run by Kamara, Carr found Foster Moreau with a ball inside the 10-yard line for a score. [Saints: 0: Patriots]
The following drive for the Patriots saw Bailey Zappe take over as quarterback. On third down, Zappe overshot a wide-open Hunter Henry along the left sideline after back-to-back handoffs. Massachusetts punted.
With youngster Kendre Miller, the Saints held the ball on the ground as they got started inside their 20 once again. Carr’s throw to Miller on third down was incomplete, resulting in a punt.
With the ball back in play, Zappe hit another pass to an open Kendrick Bourne, forcing New England to face an early third-and-one. Stevenson was then stopped short of the sticks on fourth down.
Olave was unable to stop Carr’s third-down ball in the end zone after the turnover on downs. Grupe then made a superb 53-yard field goal. [34 Saints 0: Patriots]
After his second mistake of the game, Kendrick Bourne shoved New England behind the goalie to begin their following possession. Another punt followed after two consecutive Elliott touches and an incomplete pass to Montgomery.
With 4:07 left, Jameis Winston entered the game for the Saints, and New Orleans punted after keeping it on the ground three times in a row.
Updated injuries: LB Ja’Whaun Bentley’s shoulder condition makes his recovery uncertain.
At 2:10 left, Zappe attempted a pass to Bourne, but it was incomplete. A third-and-five ball to Gesicki was intercepted near the sideline after the two-minute warning. On fourth down, Zappe tried to go for it but was pushed out of the pocket after Montgomery’s ball was incomplete.
With 1:50 remaining in the game, the Saints took over at their own 17, where they finished with three knees. [34 Saints 0: Patriots]
