Consecutive blowout losses, once unthinkable, leave the Patriots at 1-4, and reeling.
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Never thought it would come to this. Never thought it could. Never thought the Patriots would become an unfunny punchline as long as Bill Belichick was their coach.
It’s stunning that it has come to this. But the unfathomable has become the reality. The Patriots stink.
They’re 1-4 after Sunday’s humiliating 34-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints, which follows last Sunday’s humiliating 38-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, which follows their only win and perhaps their only win for a while, a 15-10 defeat of the New York Jets in which they had to survive a Zach Wilson Hail Mary attempt to eke out the victory.
They are off to their worst start since 2000, Belichick’s first season, when he had to clean up a mess of a roster. Now the mess of a roster is his creation, and there’s no fix in sight.
Mac Jones, their third-year quarterback who once had some promise, has turned into Tony Eason lowlight reel. The line is a sieve, the receivers can’t get open, and the rare inspired play call is executed poorly.
The Patriots were shut out at home for the first time since September 1969, eight years before Tom Brady was born. It never happened during Rod Rust’s 1-15 season in 1990, when the Patriots were outscored by 265 points. It never happened during Dick McPherson’s 2-14 season in 1992, when some kid named Scott Zolak led them to back-to-back wins after an 0-9 start.
The Patriots have 11 turnovers in their last nine quarters. They have not scored a touchdown in the third quarter all season. Their last offensive touchdown came when Pharaoh Brown caught the Jets napping and went 58 yards on a catch-and-run in the first minute of the second quarter of their Week 3 matchup. They have given up 69 unanswered points.
There are no fixes in sight. Jones (12 for 22, 110 yards, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble) is shattered, bruised, and mopey. Bailey Zappe, who went unclaimed on waivers at the end of training camp, looks like the best option right now, if only because he’s better at running for his life. Rhamondre Stevenson (8 carries, 24 yards) has turned into 2008 Laurence Maroney for no explicable reason, considering that he was a tackle-breaking machine behind a mediocre line last year.
What else? The Patriots are usually behind before the television broadcasts finish showing the starting lineups. They constantly look unprepared. They begin their games with no spark and end them alone with their thoughts on the hopeless sideline. Belichick probably will survive the season. Should he? How can he, if Sundays keep going like this? How did it come to this?
The Patriots do not have a soft spot on their schedule. They are the soft spot for everyone else. The Saints hadn’t scored 20 points in any of their previous 10 games until dropping 34 on the Patriots. On the plus side, the Patriots don’t have to tank to get a couple of tickets for the Caleb Williams sweepstakes. They can just keep doing what they’re doing.