Ups and Downs from Patriots' embarrassing shutout loss to Saints

FOXBORO -- Last week, when the Patriots were walloped in Dallas, we had many more Ups than Downs. But we figured it was a one-time thing.

Well, the Patriots followed up that 38-3 loss with a 34-0 shutout loss at home to the Saints. So guess what? There are lots and lots of Downs this week.

We'll start with the "Ups," because there are so few.

FOUR* UPS

Ja'Whaun Bentley's sack

The game got off to a promising start for New England, as Ja'Whaun Bentley flew through the Saints' line untouched to sack Derek Carr on a third down to force a punt on New Orleans' opening possession.

Demario Douglas' catch

The Patriots had exactly one offensive play of note, and it came from the rookie sixth-round receiver out of Liberty. The play came just after Mac Jones' pick-six in the first quarter, when the Patriots really needed a spark, and Douglas not only got open on a deep crosser but also completed a catch while absorbing an illegal shot to the head on his way down.

Unfortunately for Douglas, he tried to stay in the game but left shortly thereafter with a head injury.

*Two. We're going with two Ups.

FOUR* DOWNS

Bill O'Brien and the offense

Bill O'Brien had the easiest job in the world entering this year. He just had to run an offense better than Matt Patricia did a year ago. For someone with as much coaching experience as O'Brien, he should have been able to accomplish this without even trying.

He does, however, appear to be trying. But it's not working. The Patriots' offense is completely futile. They punted eight times, committed three turnovers, turned it over on downs twice, and they never got inside the Saints' 30-yard line.

There are reasons for the offense not being great -- and we'll get to them -- but the man in charge is not fixing anything. (Calling endless jump balls to DeVante Parker for multiple third downs is, unsurprisingly, not the solution.)

The offensive line

Cole Strange was out again, and Riley Reiff made his debut. The line was still bad. Mac Jones was under fire, and the running game couldn't get going. The Saints only logged two sacks, but the backfield was not a comfortable place to be with the football on Sunday for anyone in a Patriots jersey.

Mac Jones and the running game

While the blocking is inconsistent, there are still some opportunities for the team's leaders to step up. And Jones was largely unimpressive in this one. Same goes for Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott.

Again, much of their issues relate to the line. We understand that. But to go through a whole game without making positive plays isn't going to cut it in the NFL, no matter what the circumstance may be.

(Jones was only partially to blame for his two interceptions. On the first one, he had no idea that Carl Granderson was coming around the left guard to plug the A gap, smashing into Jones as he tried to deliver a pass. And the second one was entirely on Ty Montgomery, who bobbled the ball into the air, resulting in a pick. Jones' fumble on the failed fake QB sneak, though, was on him, after he spent the last week focused on ball security.)

Tackling

The missed tackles became hard to track on Sunday, with Kendre Miller and Taysom Hill notably slipping past Patriots defenders with relative ease. Just look at this touchdown:

Tackling was an issue.

Injuries

Demario Douglas left with a head injury, as did JuJu Smith-Schuster, leaving a team that was lacking at wide receiver to begin with even more shorthanded. Mike Onwenu also left the game with an ankle injury, and Ja'Whaun Bentley suffered a late shoulder injury.

Special teams

Few teams, if any, care about special teams the way Bill Belichick's Patriots do. There was no benefit to that focus on Sunday though.

Jabrill Peppers fair-caught a punt at his own 5-yard line, leading to audible groans from the home crowd. That more or less sank the Patriots of getting out to an early lead, as this is not the team built to go 95 yards.

At the end of that first Patriots drive, Joe Cardona had a low long snap on the punt, and rookie Bryce Baringer rushed out an ugly 26-yard punt. 

Peppers later muffed a punt while trying to make a fair catch on the run. Chad Ryland missed a 48-yard field goal, dropping him to 4-for-8 on his season after the Patriots traded up to draft him in the fourth round.

And most shocking of all, Matthew Slater was flagged for two penalties -- illegal touching (he was first to touch the ball after being out of bounds) and illegal block in the back. The first was incidental, and the second didn't matter, but it still summed up the day when the universally praised special teams Hall of Famer gets called for two penalties.

Lack of belief

The Patriots faced a fourth-and-3 at the Saints' 40-yard line in the third quarter. They trailed 24-0 at the time, and a comeback was unlikely. But a comeback from a team that doesn't believe it can even gain three yards when needed was impossible.

Yet Bill Belichick sent out his punt team, giving the ball back to New Orleans.

After the loss, Belichick was asked if he considered going for it.

"Until we're better on third and fourth down, I don't think so," he answered.

On the one hand, he's right. The team hasn't been good enough to make him believe that a 3-yard gain was attainable. At the same time, if that's the belief from the head coach ... then what's the point of taking the field at all?

That's a question that might linger in the locker room in the coming days, as the Patriots reckon with the reality that their coach doesn't believe they're worth giving a shot to convert a fourth-and-3.

Third and fourth down execution

To be fair to Belichick ... the Patriots went 1-for-14 (!!!) on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down.

Going 1-for-14 on third down is ... well, it's hard to pull off.

This play

Don't do that.

Bailey Zappe

He went 3-for-9 in relief of Mac Jones, missing a wide-open Hunter Henry on one third down and a wide-open Kendrick Bourne on another third down.

The secondary

Derek Carr is Derek Carr. On Sunday, he was Super Derek Carr. He had a 114.7 passer rating, completing 69.2 percent of his passes. The return of Jonathan Jones and J.C. Jackson did not help much.

Red-zone defense

The Saints entered the game ranked dead last in red zone offense, converting just 33.3 percent of their trips into touchdowns. They went 3-for-3 in this game (before taking a knee to end the game).

*That was 12 downs. Was it enough?

You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.