The New England Patriots sunk further into crisis mode with a 34-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
New England has now scored three points in consecutive blowout defeats, both of which saw Mac Jones get benched during the second half. The offense hasn’t found any answers.
When asked what’s going wrong after Sunday’s game, Kendrick Bourne replied, “I don’t know, man.” The wide receiver then detailed how the Patriots must escape their current funk.
“I keep saying it: I feel like we have to work harder,” Bourne said, per NESN’s Zack Cox. “More effort. We need more effort. And I’m not speaking of anybody. It just feels like we need to want it more. That’s just the energy out there. We need more energy.”
“We need more effort. And I’m not speaking of anybody. It just feels like we need to want it more.”
After the Patriots’ second straight blowout loss, Kendrick Bourne said the team’s effort hasn’t been up to par. https://t.co/BospspXqk6 pic.twitter.com/JZ8mKLZzc1
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) October 8, 2023
Bourne finished Sunday’s shutout with two catches, but his 43 yards led the team. Jones has two passing touchdowns in the last four games since connecting with Bourne for two scores in Week 1.
The 28-year-old called on his teammates to “practice better” and “work harder.”
“It’s all about hard work,” Bourne said. “I feel like we’ve got to work harder in practice. We’ve got to try harder and just do better individually, personally, and as a group.”
Despite generating 156 total yards of total offense, Bourne believes his team had opportunities against the Saints.
“I feel like the plays were there,” Bourne said. “We’ve just got to make them. Sometimes we’ve got to make harder catches or whatever it may be, but I feel like the plays were there. A lot of them showed themselves. We’ve just got to finish.”
The Patriots have scored an NFL-low 55 points, and that’s including all teams that have to play or have a bye in Week 5. Only the New York Giants have a worse point differential.
New England is in dire need of a rebound when playing the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6.