Today's 28-13 loss by the Patriots (1-2) to the Saints (2-1) at Gillette Stadium was a bad enough result on the surface but more troubling is the fact that it could have been much worse. New Orleans' kicker Aldrick Rosas missed a pair of field goals which hardly mattered since New England's sputtering offense never got in gear. The lack of playmakers on both sides of the ball for the Patriots is getting downright scary, where are you Stephon Gilmore? Rookie quarterback Mac Jones (30-of-51 for 270 yards, TD, 3 INTs) had his worst day as a pro but it wasn't all his fault since Pats tight end Jonnu Smith gifted a pick-six right to Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins that went back 34 yards on the first play of the second half. At 21-3 in favor of the visitors it was all but over even with that much time left on the clock.
This was one game against an NFC opponent so I don't want to be super negative about everything but New Orleans is nothing more than a slightly above average team this year. You kept waiting for the Saints' bozo quarterback Jameis Winston to make his usual fatal mistake except he threw a pair of touchdown passes and he never turned the ball over. The Patriots sacked him three times (2.5 from linebacker Matt Judon) but they also allowed a combined 118 yards (89 rushing & 29 receving) to New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara-the guy that everybody knew was the only offensive player that Pats head coach Bill Belichick and Co. had to gameplan for.
Former legendary New England receiver Julian Edelman was honored at halftime and honestly he deserved better in terms of the poor effort that unfolded in front of him by his old teammates and coaches. The Saints had the only points in the first quarter, an 11-yard touchdown pass from Winston to a wide open Kamara. New Orleans doubled its lead late in the second quarter as Winston threw the ball up to the back of the end zone and somehow a very covered Saints receiver Marquez Callaway came down with it for a seven-yard touchdown catch. New England avoided being shut out in the first half by virtue of a 45-yard field goal by Nick Folk with 34 seconds left in the second quarter.
Down 18 in the third quarter (and with James White sidelined with a hip injury), Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels thought that was the perfect time to let special teamer Brandon Bolden get a few red zone carries. Shockingly that drive stalled out with the Pats settling for a 26-yard field goal by Folk that cut it to 21-6 Saints late in the third quarter. New England briefly made it competitive in the fourth quarter with Jones repeatedly connecting with wide receiver Kendrick Bourne (6 catches, career-high 96 yards) including a sweet 22-yard touchdown catch on the sideline where Bourne was able to keep his balance and stay inbounds before reaching the end zone. This was the same player who had a combined three catches and six targets his first two games as a Patriot, I don't know maybe find a way to get him a little more involved? Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (9 catches, 94 yards) is the only other trustworthy option for Jones since New England's expensive tight end signings Hunter Henry and Smith thus far are each looking like busts.
To close it out, the Saints played keep away with the ball (for nearly 7 minutes) from the Pats and they let backup quarterback/battering ram Taysom Hill deliver the final blow-a 7-yard touchdown run. Earlier on that drive he had hurdled over Patriots safety Devin McCourty. Hill is a good player but I'm pretty sure if he does that to you, you have to retire on the spot. Yeesh. We all dreamed of New England being 3-0 or 2-1 with Tom Brady and the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers (2-1) coming to Foxborough next Sunday night (8:20 p.m., NBC) but that's not how it turned out. To make matters worse, the Bucs lost 34-24 in LA this afternoon against the impressive Rams (3-0) as if TB12 needed any more juice in his first return to face Belichick and the franchise that he put on the map. The whole region and most of the sporting world will be tuning in but I fear that it is going to be a very ugly night for the Patriots.
UPDATE 9/29: ESPN's Adam Schefter reported this afternoon that White will miss the rest of the season with a hip injury, ugh poor guy.
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