After defeating the New York Jets on the road last week, there was hope that the New England Patriots could upset the Dallas Cowboys for their biggest victory of the season. It took only a quarter of play before those dreams were quickly revealed as a nightmare.
The Patriots got pummeled in historic fashion by a Cowboys team looking to make a statement after an embarrassing loss of their own in Week 3 to the Arizona Cardinals.
Mac Jones turned the ball over three times, and the defense continued getting decimated with injuries. Rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who earned honors for Rookie Defensive Player of the Month in September, left the field with a shoulder injury and never returned.
Linebacker Matthew Judon and safety Jabrill Peppers were also injured in the game.
Meanwhile, Jones was benched in the third quarter after a historically bad half in the Bill Belichick era. But even with Bailey Zappe under center, the Patriots still couldn’t move the ball on offense. The team imploded in the spotlight as they have typically done over the last three years.
History for Bill Belichick
Just not the good kind pic.twitter.com/D9xPncxriS
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) October 1, 2023
The injuries make the situation even more daunting for the Patriots. For the first three games, they had a defense that could stand with the best in the NFL. Now, they might have more backups than starters taking the field in next week’s game against the New Orleans Saints.
A historically bad game could turn into a historically bad season for Belichick and company.
