The New England Patriots were outclassed by the Dallas Cowboys in an abysmal Week 4 performance at AT&T Stadium, 38-3.
For the third time in four weeks, the Patriots fell behind by double digits early and didn't have the firepower to complete a comeback. The difference in this one? Quarterback Mac Jones couldn't make the final score look respectable.
As our Tom E. Curran points out, early deficits have become a troubling trend for New England.
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The 35-point loss was the largest margin of defeat in Bill Belichick's 29-year career as an NFL head coach.
It was a brutal day for Jones, who completed 12 of his 21 passes for 150 yards and failed to score a touchdown before being replaced by Bailey Zappe late in the third quarter. The third-year signal-caller was strip-sacked in a play that resulted in a Cowboys touchdown and went on to throw two costly interceptions, including a pick-six.
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Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott went 28-for-34 with 261 yards and one touchdown pass. Fullback Hunter Luepke scored the other offensive TD for Dallas during the fourth quarter.
The Patriots will return home next Sunday as they look to bounce back against the New Orleans Saints. Before we turn the page to Week 5, here are our takeaways from their blowout loss to Dallas.
QB controversy all over again?
For the most part, Jones was the least of the Patriots' troubles through the first three weeks of the season. The blame instead was placed on a lack of weapons, a struggling offensive line, and self-inflicted wounds that put them in a hole they couldn't dig out of.
There was no avoiding blame for Jones in Week 4.
This was the worst game of his career thus far. His poor decision-making resulted in three costly turnovers that fueled Dallas' rout.
The first was a Dante Fowler strip-sack returned by Leighton Vander Esch for a touchdown that widened the Cowboys' lead to 15.
Later, at the end of the second quarter, Jones tossed it into the hands of DaRon Bland for a pick-six that put the Patriots in a 25-point hole at the half.
Bland picked Jones off again to start the second half.
Late in the third quarter with his team down 28, Bill Belichick had seen enough. He replaced Jones with backup QB Bailey Zappe for the remainder of the game.
Zappe didn't make much noise as he completed four of his nine passes for 57 yards. Nevertheless, we can expect plenty of Jones vs. Zappe talk leading into Week 5. Sound familiar?
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Major blows to the defense
Already without cornerbacks Jonathan Jones, Jack Jones, and Marcus Jones due to injury, the Patriots lost another key member of their secondary on Sunday.
Rookie first-round cornerback Christian Gonzalez exited with a shoulder injury during the first half and did not return. As soon as he left the game, the Cowboys took advantage. Dak Prescott immediately went after Gonzalez's replacement, Myles Bryant, and found CeeDee Lamb for Dallas' first TD of the day.
To make matters even worse, star linebacker Matthew Judon and safety Jabrill Peppers also went down with injuries late in the game and didn't return. The Patriots announced it was an elbow injury for Judon.
The severity of the injuries to Gonzalez, Judon, and Peppers is unclear at this point, but they are the last thing this Patriots defense needs heading into what feels like a must-win Week 5.
Pats need more Pop
The only moment worth cheering about for Patriots fans in Sunday's loss came courtesy of rookie wideout Demario "Pop" Douglas in the first quarter.
On third-and-6, Jones found a wide-open Douglas and the sixth-rounder showed off his explosiveness with a killer spin move. The 42-yard completion was the Patriots' longest play of the day.
The lack of playmakers in the Patriots offense has been glaring over the first four weeks of the season. Our Patriots insider Phil Perry lobbied for more Pop -- particularly on third down -- in his mailbag last week, and the play above is a perfect example of why. With JuJu Smith-Schuster (one catch for 14 yards on Sunday) proving ineffective, it's time to give Douglas more opportunities to shine.