Mac Jones's season went from bad to worse on Sunday as he led the Patriots to an embarrassing 34-0 loss to the Saints.
The shutout loss comes one week after New England suffered the worst loss of the Bill Belichick era, falling to the Cowboys 38-3.
After back-to-back no-shows, fans aired their frustrations with Jones on social media.
what is Mac Jones doing? Brutal pic.twitter.com/hfIePo7nVC
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 8, 2023
Mac Jones ascending to almost impossible levels of badness
— Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) October 8, 2023
THIS HAS TO END. HOW MUCH MORE EVIDENCE DO WE NEED THAT MAC JONES IS NOT A STARTING QB????
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) October 8, 2023
Touchdowns allowed this season:
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) October 8, 2023
Patriots defense: 7
Mac Jones: 4
Mac Jones had a QBR of 30.5 today against the Saints.
— Thomas Carrieri (@Thomas_Carrieri) October 8, 2023
To put that in perspective, you’d have a QBR of 39.6 if you decided to spike the ball into the turf on every single play. pic.twitter.com/MuHzXysFaU
Jones was eventually benched in favor of backup quarterback Bailey Zappe once the game was out of reach. It was the second straight week that the third-year pro was unable to finish the game under center.
Jones ended his day completing just 12 of 22 passes for 110 yards and threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
After the game, Belichick told reporters that the loss wasn't solely on Jones.
"Yeah, there's a lot of problems. It certainly wasn't all on him."
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 8, 2023
Bill Belichick says that despite being benched in consecutive weeks, Mac Jones is still the Patriots starting QB. pic.twitter.com/Rg3kRqqCg0
The loss pushes the Patriots to 1–4 on the season, with games against the Raiders, Bills, and Dolphins on the horizon.