FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots suffered a disappointing 28-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
New England’s offense mostly was terrible, its defense was up-and-down and special teams were shaky, too. It all added up to a defeat the Patriots absolutely needed to avoid before welcoming Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Foxboro in Week 4.
Nevertheless, Bill Belichick’s team is 1-2 through three weeks.
Here are the top highlights from Sunday’s game between the Patriots and Saints:
— The Saints got the scoring started with this catch-and-run from Alvin Kamara, who somehow was left uncovered and scampered into the end zone. Kyle Van Noy looked completely lost.
— Mac Jones, pressured early and often, was forced into an ugly throw on third down. P.J. Williams came up with the second-quarter interception and returned it to the 9-yard line where a fumble seemingly led to another New Orleans touchdown. After review, Williams was ruled down by contact.
— A wild play on third-and-goal as Jameis Winston chucked up an ill-advised ball that Marquez Callaway improbably came down with. Jonathan Jones committed holding, so the Saints would’ve had the ball near the goal line had Callaway not made the catch.
— This 31-yard strike to Kendrick Bourne gave the Patriots some life late in the first half. New England wound up settling for a Nick Folk field goal.
— This is just a complete disaster that speaks for itself.
— Patriots pass protection once again broke down as Tanoh Kpassagnon picked up a sack for the Saints early in the fourth quarter. New England needed a scoring drive, and this play put it in a third-and-18 that it couldn’t convert.
— Too little, too late, but this still was a great play from Bourne.
— New England made a little noise in the fourth quarter, but the defense ultimately couldn’t come up with the stops it needed at the end of the game. The Saints put it away with this touchdown run from Taysom Hill.
