We never thought we'd see the day when the New England Patriots fell back into poverty. Today is that day.
In Foxboro, the Patriots gave up 34 unanswered points to the New Orleans Saints to lose their fourth game of the season. Once upon a time, the Patriots had redeeming strengths, like its quarterback play or top-tier defense. In 2023, it's difficult to figure out what, if anything, the Pats are good at anymore.
Not the offense, which generated less than 200 scrimmage yards and got shut out for the first time since 2016. Not the defense, which recently lost Matthew Judon and Christian Gonzalez and let a middling NFC South team tear them apart all over the field. Not even special teams.
At this point, one has to be looking at the root of the problem. Who constructed this roster in the first place?
Here are three Pats members who deserve all the blame after Week 5's humiliation.
Bill Belichick needs to take some blame, finally
Head coach Bill Belichick is the elephant in the room after the Patriots' disappointing performances of late. After taking a 38-3 beating to the Cowboys in Week 4, Belichick was determined to sink even lower and got shut out at home against the Saints.
Even though the Pats were missing a few key defensive players, there's no excuse for this lopsided of a loss. New England has been outscored 72-3 in the last two games and sit 1-4 at the bottom of the AFC East.
When will it finally get through to the Patriots' front office's stubborn heads that Belichick isn't the coach he used to be?
The "Belichick without Brady" debate is it's own separate thing. We're just saying that after two totally embarrassing losses in these past weeks, coaching is usually the root of the problem.
Belichick made a handful of questionable calls in Sunday's loss, too, including his choice to punt the ball rather than go for it on a 4th-and-3 from the Saints' 40-yard line when the Patriots were down 24-0.
His conservative offensive mindset will not take the Patriots far this year. It's time for a change.
The Patriots have to bench Mac Jones
Speaking of Bill Belichick's issues, he has not gotten the best out of quarterback Mac Jones. That much was shown when Jones got benched during the third quarter and gave way to Bailey Zappe.
Jones went 12-of-22 for 110 yards and threw no touchdowns against two interceptions.
Sunday marked the fourth pick-6 Jones has thrown at Gillette Stadium. For comparison, Tom Brady has thrown four pick-sixes at Gillette Stadium n his entire career. And the one Jones threw today just.... made no sense. He faced heavy pressure and instead of just taking the sack, he threw it right into the hands of Saints' Tyrann Mathieu.
Had Jones shown some promise in his early starts, he would not be on this list. But this is the second consecutive game he's been benched mid-game, and one has to wonder whether it would do the Pats good to sit him for at least a short stretch.
After two ugly years, this year looks to be the ugliest of his career. Bench him, and try something new.
Bill O'Brien isn't the OC Patriots fans thought he would be
If Bill Belichick is getting warm on the hot seat, so is offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, the guy Belichick hired this past summer to theoretically turn the Pats' offense around.
Serving as an upgrade from Matt Patricia isn't saying much. The Patriots had a whole offseason to figure out its kinks, and what do they have to show for it? One offensive touchdown in the last three games. 16 offensive points in that span. A running game and passing game that looks anemic week after week and no improvement in sight.
O'Brien deserves his flowers for his 2011 stint in New England in which he helped the team develop into one of the most efficient offenses in the league, ranking second and third in yards and points per game. (Yes, Brady had a hand in that).
Now, more than a decade later, it's just not working. O'Brien hasn't managed to make Mac Jones look anything near a starting-caliber quarterback, and it may be time to officially call time on the O'Brien reunion. The Patriots' organization, long resistant to change, may be forced to look at it in the face this season.
