09 October 2023 , 12:54
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The New England Patriots losing 34-0 to the New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium was a new nadir for head coach and de facto general manager Bill Belichick.
Belichick, 71, is currently five games into Year 29 on the sidelines, and never before has he lost by a wider margin at home. The Patriots' latest defeat tops the previous low set three years ago with a 38-9 loss to their AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills.
It also comes a week after Belichick was on the receiving end of his worst defeat ever. That was a 38-3 blowout on the road against the Dallas Cowboys.
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New England quarterback Mac Jones was benched during that beatdown and also found himself pulled out before the end of this latest embarrassment. After receiving additional reps in practice last week, Jones' backup, Bailey Zappe, played most of the fourth quarter against the Saints, with the result long since decided.
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It is seven years since the Pats last went scoreless on their home field. On that occasion, early in the 2016 season, they were without the suspended Tom Brady and fell 16-0 to the Bills.
Since being drafted number 15 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, Jones has been the successor to Brady in Foxborough. However, it is two-and-a-half games since the team he leads scored a touchdown, dating back to their lone win this season in Week 3 against the New York Jets.
Jones is struggling as the Pats quarterback this season (AP)These offensive struggles have made for their worst start to a season after five games since Brady's first in the league in 2000. After losing their first four that year, they finished 5-11 overall.
Their attempts to avoid repeating that wretched season has Belichick talking up a mid-season reset. “Obviously, it was a poor performance today here,” the Pats coach told reporters.
“So, just plain and simply, we’ve got to find a way to play and coach better than that. So that’s what we are going to do, start all over and get back on a better track than we’re on right now.
However, that will not yet include changing starting quarterbacks. "It was 31-0 at the end of the third quarter," was the explanation for benching Jones. The coach confirmed he would stay as the starter, adding: "There were a lot of problems ... it certainly wasn't all on him."
Expanding further on what those problems were, Belichick continued: "Slow start. And then just couldn’t ever really get the game under control.”
Jones shared similar sentiments and vowed to improve upon them immediately, explaining: "Really just not being ready to go, I guess," the quarterback said. "As an offence, you want to go out there, you've practised all week, and you feel confident. So, definitely want to get improvement on that. Not any of these games are not starting off very hot, so just gotta improve."