How Bill Belichick Explained Controversial Fourth-Down Call In Patriots Loss

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Bill Belichick conceded defeat long before he pulled Mac Jones from Sunday's lopsided Patriots loss.

Facing a fourth-and-3 from the New Orleans Saints' 40-yard line just five minutes into the second half, Belichick chose to punt rather than keep his Jones-led offense on the field.

New England trailed 24-0 at the time, and by punting, Belichick admitted that deficit was insurmountable for his struggling squad. The Saints went on to win 34-0, handing the Patriots their second consecutive 30-point loss and just the fourth of the Belichick era.

Belichick, who later sat Jones for backup Bailey Zappe, was asked after the game whether he considered going for it in that situation.

"Until we're better on third and fourth down, I don't think so," the head coach replied.

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The Patriots entered Sunday ranked 17th in the NFL in third-down conversion rate and tied for 28th on fourth down. They were awful in that area against New Orleans, going 1-for-14 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth.

It was the second time under Belichick that New England posted a third-down success rate below 10%. The other came in 2017, when they went 0-for-11 in a Monday night loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The Patriots were only marginally better in that area a week ago, going 4-for-13 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth in a 38-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. It's one of a long list of problems that have plagued New England's offense, which has gone 10 consecutive quarters without a touchdown and has yet to top 20 points in a game this season.

New England entered Sunday ranked 30th in the NFL in scoring and likely will tumble further by the time Week 5 is complete. Sitting at 1-4 for the first time since 2000, the Patriots will visit the Las Vegas Raiders next Sunday.