FOXBOROUGH — That wasn't good.
The Patriots were thoroughly outplayed on both sides of the ball, as they fell to the Saints, 28-13 Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. They are now 1-2 on the year.
Going into the game everyone knew turnovers would be the difference and that turned out to be the case. Jameis Winston and the Saints took care of the ball, while the Patriots didn't, finishing with three turnovers.
The Patriots tried to mount a second half comeback, but the Saints sealed the win with a long seven-minute touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
Here are 10 quick thoughts on the game.
1. While Mac Jones threw two interceptions, they were not entirely his fault and he was decent. The rookie was under pressure all day and stood in the pocket plenty of times taking big hits. He finished 30-for-51 with 270 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions.
2. Jonnu Smith has been a massive disappointment through two games. The tight end dropped a pass on the first play out of the half that went up in the air and was returned for a touchdown. On the very next series he dropped a very easy pass on what was a designed screen play for him. After that he and the offense were boo’d off the field. Getting the big contract that he did this offseason, much, much more was expected.
3. Hunter Henry hasn’t been much better, as he hasn’t made much of an impact to start the season. At the end of the first half the Patriots had fourth-and-1 and were going for it, but Henry was called for a false start penalty and they needed to settle for a field goal. It was especially tough since it was coming out of a timeout.
4. The Patriots offensive line is a mess, and it’s not just because Trent Brown is out at right tackle. The entire unit was out of sorts in the game, especially on the right side. Jones didn’t have much time to throw and the team couldn’t get anything going with the run game. It will certainly help getting Brown back, but the other players need to be better as well. The coaching staff still refuses to move Michael Onwenu outside and bring Ted Karras to play left guard.
5. The Gillette Stadium crowd deserves a lot of credit for staying engaged all game long despite the tough performance from the Patriots, especially in the first half. It was its loudest of the day for a big third down midway through the fourth quarter, but the defense couldn't come up with a timely stop.
6. The Patriots continue to rotate a ton of players in and out on defense, but it’s caused some interesting players to come off the field at times. JC Jackson did not play on an entire series in the third quarter, which is similar to not starting the second half last week. Dont’a Hightower didn’t play on an entire series in the second quarter and another in the third. It’s one thing to rotate players in and out, but removing good players for entire drives doesn’t make a lot of much sense.
7. James White suffered a hip injury in the second quarter. He was immediately ruled out, which is an indication of it being a serious injury. Through two games he was the most dependable player on the offense and will really be missed. He was what ignited the unit and now that is a vital piece missing, which showed up in a game like this where a spark was desperately needed.
8. For the second straight game, Jake Bailey had a kickoff go out of bounds. It hasn’t been the greatest start to the year for the Pro Bowl punter from a year ago. It’s minor, but these things eventually add up.
9. Josh McDaniels had some questionable play calls throughout the game, especially in the red zone. A lot of running plays were called, which was a bit surprising considering the score. The Patriots do not seem to have that much trust in J.J. Taylor as following the White injury, Brandon Bolden was in the game on some big plays. Taylor figures to get a lot of playing time with White likely out extended time.
10. It’s now officially Tom Brady week. The Patriots will host the Buccaneers next Sunday night and get ready for wall-to-wall discussion not only on sports talk radio and television programs, but regular news as well. The entire football world will be focused on Gillette Stadium all week.