Seven Thoughts On Patriots’ Disastrous Loss To Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Texas — Complete and utter disaster. That’s the best way to sum up what happened to the Patriots on Sunday.

The Patriots lost two of their best players to injury, benched their starting quarterback after a ghastly performance and suffered their most lopsided defeat of the Bill Belichick era, falling 38-3 to the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

Here are seven thoughts on the Week 4 result, which dropped New England to 1-3 on the season:

1. Mac Jones benched
The Patriots’ starting QB watched the final quarter-plus from the sideline after a mistake-filled outing that ranks as one of the worst of his NFL career.

Jones committed two turnovers that directly led to Cowboys touchdowns: a strip-sack scoop-and-score early in the second quarter and a pick-six just before halftime. He also had another ugly interception early in the third before ultimately being benched for second-year backup Bailey Zappe.

On the fumble, edge rusher Dante Fowler cleanly beat right tackle Vederian Lowe around the edge and hit an unaware Jones from behind, jarring the ball loose. On the pick-six, Jones tried to fire a cross-field pass to Kendrick Bourne that cornerback DaRon Bland easily undercut and took to the house.

Jones’ second INT also went to Bland, who had blanket coverage on receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. He finished the day 12-for-21 for 150 yards and no touchdowns with two picks. His 39.9 passer rating was the third-worst of his career.

Zappe, who entered with the Patriots down 31-3, played the final three series and went 4-for-9 for 57 yards.

It’ll now be fascinating to see how the Patriots proceed at quarterback ahead of next Sunday’s home game against the New Orleans Saints. Overall, Jones played well in the first three games and certainly was not the primary reason for New England’s underwhelming start to the season. He’ll likely remain atop the depth chart, even after Sunday’s dud. But the Patriots once again have uncertainty behind center, on top of their myriad other issues.

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2. Christian Gonzalez injured
The Patriots lost one of their most important defensive players just 13 minutes in. Rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez suffered a shoulder injury while tackling running back Tony Pollard late in the first quarter. He exited toward the locker room, in visible pain, and did not return, with New England officially ruling him out after halftime.

Gonzalez was playing superb football for the Patriots — days earlier, he was recognized as the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Month for September — and his injury left them with close to zero depth at a vital position.

With Jonathan Jones, Jack Jones and Marcus Jones also unavailable, Myles Bryant (a slot/safety by trade) and Shaun Wade (a healthy scratch when everyone is healthy) both played every snap the rest of the way at outside corner. Safeties Jalen Mills and Marte Mapu manned the slot.

One play after Gonzalez left the game, Pro Bowl receiver CeeDee Lamb beat Bryant for a 20-yard touchdown to put Dallas up 10-3. The Cowboys also had success picking on Wade.

3. Matthew Judon injured
Judon, arguably the Patriots’ best player regardless of position, injured his elbow while trying to corral rookie running back Deuce Vaughn early in the fourth quarter. His right arm bent back awkwardly as Vaughn spun out of his tackle attempt.

After a brief trip to the sideline medical tent, Judon exited toward the locker room and did not return. If his injury proves as serious as it appeared, it would be a colossal loss for New England’s defense.

Judon has played in every game since signing with the Patriots in 2021, racking up 32 sacks in 38 appearances and earning back-to-back Pro Bowl nods.

4. Respectable showing by the defense
Despite that personnel shortage and the lopsided final score, this actually was not an awful defensive showing for the Patriots. They held a talented Cowboys offense to just one touchdown until the fourth quarter and forced field goals on three of Dallas’ four red-zone trips.

Linebackers Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jahlani Tavai played key roles in those stalled drives, with Bentley breaking up multiple passes near the goal line and Tavai notching a PBU and third-down sack to force a third-quarter field-goal try.

5. Poor discipline
Right guard Mike Onwenu was flagged twice for false starts and once for holding. Long snapper Joe Cardona had a holding penalty on a punt that set the Cowboys up near midfield. A facemask by Christian Barmore later in that drive gave Dallas another 15 yards. Left guard Atonio Mafi and center David Andrews also had late-game penalties that were declined.

6. No real change at running back
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport raised eyebrows Sunday morning when he reported Ezekiel Elliott would play a more prominent role and see “starter reps” against his former team. That shift never materialized.

Elliott logged just six carries for 16 yards in the loss, with Rhamondre Stevenson carrying 14 times for 30 yards. The Patriots struggled to run the ball effectively against a Cowboys defense that allowed 222 yards the previous week. They averaged just 2.3 yards per carry as a team.

7. Bright spots?
Hunter Henry had four catches on five targets for 51 yards, including a sweet one-hander on third down. Demario Douglas had a ruthless spin move on a 42-yard reception. Other than that, not many positives to take away from this one.