Mac Jones Throws 3 INTs, Patriots' Offense Struggles Mightily In Loss To Saints
FOXBORO (CBS) -- The Patriots entered Sunday looking to improve to 2-1 on the season. It didn't go as planned.
In what was an offensive struggle for both sides, Mac Jones committed two costly turnovers that led directly to two Saints touchdowns, in what turned out to be a 28-13 victory for visiting New Orleans.
Mac Jones completed 30 of his 50 passes for 270 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. The first two were very costly, leading directly to two Saints' touchdowns. The final pick came at the end of the game.
Jameis Winston completed 13 of his 21 passes for 128 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Alvin Kamara ran for 89 yards on 24 carries while also catching three passes for 29 yards and a touchdown.
James White suffered a hip injury in the first half and needed to be carted to the locker room.
After each team went three-and-out and exchanged punts to start the game, the Saints mounted a 69-yard scoring drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Winston to Alvin Kamara, who was uncovered in the middle of the New England defense.
The Patriots stopped Taysom Hill on a third-and-6 run late in the first quarter, and Saints kicker Aldrick Rosas missed a 52-yard field goal attempt to keep the score at 7-0.
The score stayed there until late in the second quarter when Jones threw a pass while getting hit, resulting in an interception that was returned 46 yards to the New England 9-yard line.
Winston completed a miraculous touchdown pass on third-and-goal, putting the Saints up by two touchdowns.
The Patriots then finally generated some offense, quickly driving to the Saints' 22-yard line. But after lining up for the fourth-and-1 play, Hunter Henry jumped early, resulting in a false start penalty. The Patriots settled for the field goal to cut New Orleans' lead to 14-3 before halftime.
After a halftime ceremony celebrating the retired Julian Edelman, the Patriots hoped to make it a one-score game on the opening possession of the third quarter. Instead, Jones' pass to Jonnu Smith was slightly in front of the tight end, leading to a bobble and a pick-six for Malcolm Jenkins to make it 21-3 for New Orleans.
The Patriots managed to put together a methodical drive late in the third quarter, but it stalled out in the red zone. Consecutive handoffs to Brandon Bolden went for negative-1 yard, and Jones threw to Smith around the line of scrimmage on third-and-11, resulting in a four-yard gain and a field goal. Folk's successful kick only cut the lead down to 21-6.
The Patriots showed some signs of life in the fourth quarter, driving 44 yards in a hurry, needing just three plays to find the end zone. After Nelson Agholor drew a pass interference penalty (on a play where he made the catch anyway), Jones scrambled up the middle for 12 yards. On the next play, he threw up a jump ball for Kendrick Bourne, who made the contested catch before shedding his defender and reaching the ball around the pylon for his first touchdown as a member of the Patriots.
Folk's PAT cut the Saints' lead to 21-13 with 9:22 left.
The stadium reached its loudest point on the ensuing Saints possession, when they faced a third-and-7 at their own 28-yard line. New Orleans called a timeout at the line to make sure it had the right play, and Winston faced no pressure before delivering a strike Deonte Harris for a gain of 12 yards and a fresh set of downs.
The Saints rode that conversion all the way up the field on a very long touchdown drive that took 6:45 off the clock and extended the lead to 28-13.
Jones threw his final interception in the final drive of the game, taking a shot near the end zone with just seconds left to play.
With three games now in the books, the Patriots now will prepare for their most-anticipated game of the season -- and perhaps the most-anticipated regular-season game in NFL history -- as Tom Brady and the Buccaneers will visit New England next Sunday night.
