Saints crush sputtering Patriots 34-0; Mac Jones benched again

Field Level Media|published: Sun 8th October, 16:13 2023

Oct 8, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) reacts after scoring a touchdown during the first half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. credits: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Derek Carr threw two touchdown passes and the New Orleans Saints' defense forced three turnovers in a 34-0 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.

Carr passed for 183 yards, Alvin Kamara rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown and Tyrann Mathieu got the rout started by returning an interception of Mac Jones for the game's first score.

The Saints (3-2) ended their NFL-worst streak of 10 consecutive games scoring 21 or fewer points.

For the second straight week, Jones had two interceptions and a lost fumble before being replaced by Bailey Zappe in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots (1-4) nearly matched the futility of their 38-3 loss at Dallas a week earlier, the most lopsided defeat in Bill Belichick's 29 seasons as a head coach. Sunday's margin was the largest in a home shutout loss in franchise history.

Belichick failed for a second consecutive week to join Don Shula and George Halas as the only NFL head coaches to win 300 games.

New England, which finished with 156 yards and eight first downs, went 1-of-14 on third-down conversions and 0-for-2 on fourth downs.

Jones lost a fumble on the first possession of the third quarter, leading to Blake Grupe's 54-yard field goal and a 24-0 New Orleans lead at the end of the third quarter.

Pete Werner intercepted Jones at the New England 31, and Carr's ensuing 6-yard touchdown pass to Foster Moreau made it a 31-0 lead. Grupe's 53-yard field goal completed the scoring with 5:43 left.

Jones, who had an interception and a fumble returned for touchdowns last week, was intercepted on New England's second possession Sunday by Mathieu, who returned it 27 yards for a touchdown that gave New Orleans a 7-0 first-quarter lead.

On the second play of the second quarter, Kamara ran 2 yards for the Saints' first offensive touchdown in 20 possessions, increasing the lead to 14-0.

They made it two touchdown drives in a row when Carr threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave for a 21-0 halftime lead.

—Field Level Media