By Kyle Hightower
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Only one brand of football comes to mind when Jameis Winston thinks about the best New Orleans Saints teams of the past.
“Saints football has always been efficiency and physicality up front,” he said. “That’s all I know. They win up front and they play tough. That’s what we did here.”
Winston threw two touchdown passes, Malcolm Jenkins returned an interception for a score, and the Saints beat the Patriots 28-13 on Sunday. New England is 0-2 at home for the first time since 2000, Bill Belichick’s first season as coach.
A week after a career-low passer rating Winston showed better command of the offense, completing 13 of 21 passes for 128 yards. Taysom Hill ran for a touchdown and Alvin Kamara rushed 24 times for 89 yards and had a receiving TD. He got support from a defense that made Patriots rookie quarterback’s life miserable.
Mac Jones entered the day hoping to stretch the field after two games in which the passing attack was mostly underneath. Instead, he found himself under pressure for most of the day and threw three interceptions, two leading to Saints touchdowns. New Orleans sacked Jones three times and hit him 11 times. He finished 30 of 51 for 270 yards and a touchdown.
“I think it just goes back to execution,” Jones said. “I can do a better job just sticking to my reads and being patient and letting things develop. I didn’t do a good job of that today.”
Saints safety P.J. Williams returned Jones’ first pick of the day 46 yards to set up a 7-yard TD pass by Winston in the second quarter.
Jenkins was the beneficiary of the second INT, snaring a pass bobbled by tight end Jonnu Smith. He returned it 34 yards and put the Saints in front 21-3.
The Patriots cut it to 21-13 following Jones’ 22-yard TD pass to Kendrick Bourne with 9:22 left in the fourth period. The Saints responded with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that ate up 6:45 and ended with at 4-yard run by Hill.
Saints coach Sean Payton harped all week on the Patriots’ impressive 108-7 record at home (including playoffs) since 2000 when they win the turnover battle. He said having a plus-3 differential Sunday was huge.
“We’re mindful of it every week, but it had to be something that was put in our heads every day,” he said. “I thought we took care of the football. I thought that was important.”
New Orleans overcame an early injury to take a 14-3 lead into halftime.
The Saints’ offensive line was already down one starter with center Erik McCoy (calf) ruled out. They lost another early in the first quarter after left tackle Terron Armstead exited with a left elbow injury.
But after going three-and-out on their opening drive, the Saints got efficient, sweeping down the field mixing runs and passes, and a long third-down conversion to get inside the red zone. Winston then put a bow on the 11-play, 69-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kamara.
The Saints turned defense into offense for their second score.
The Patriots had third down near midfield when linebacker Kaden Ellis pressured Jones, forcing a pass that was tipped and intercepted by Williams. He returned it 46 yards to the Patriots 9.
Three plays later Winston connected with Marquez Callaway for a 7-yard touchdown.
“There’s no magic sauce here,” Belichick said. “Just have to go back to work and do better.”
Cleaning up issues
It’s a new season but the New England Patriots are experiencing variations of same problems that plagued them in 2020.
The offense has better overall flow to it with Mac Jones at the helm, yet still is having trouble producing touchdowns. Opponents are scoring at a high percentage against the defense in the red zone. And the Patriots are losing the field position battle on special teams.
Key injuries are also playing a role just as they did a year ago.
Last season it was Julian’s Edelman’s ailing knee. This time it’s two key cogs who are on the mend. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore is sidelined for at least three more games as he continues to recover from quadriceps surgery. Now, running back James White is out for a yet to be determined time period after being carted off in the second quarter of Sunday’s loss to New Orleans with a hip injury.
“We can’t go back and change anything, so we just have to come in tomorrow and get back to work,” center David Andrews said. “We just want to come in and correct it, then move forward.”
Any hopes of duplicating that kind of turnaround begins with the weighty challenge of beating Tom Brady when he returns to town for the first time since he left in free agency to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brady and the Bucs head into this Sunday’s matchup tied for the league’s highest-scoring offense at 34.3 points per game. Their 349.7 yards per game on offense also rank second in the NFL.
Safety Devin McCourty said the key this week will be blocking any hype about the seven-time champion’s return and focusing on what they need clean up this week.
“We’re not good enough to get lost ahead of us, so we better focus in on what we need to do and watch them from an X’s and O’s standpoint,” McCourty said. “Watch them as an offense, defense, special teams and lock in on that. We can’t worry about anything else.”
What’s working
While the defense overall has several things to correct, the pass rush continues to show some promise. LB Matt Judon was the highlight Sunday, ending the game with 2 1/2 sacks and three hits on Saints quarterback Jameis Winston.
What needs help
The offensive line took a step back this week, allowing Jones to be hit 11 times and sacked twice. While contact is expected when the quarterback attempts 51 passes, protecting the rookie better must be a priority.
Stock up
Receiver Kendrick Bourne made his biggest impact of the season, catching six passes for a team-high 96 yards and a touchdown.
“It felt good, but you know it is not enough,” Bourne said. “I always want to win and am just focused on winning and just want to have another opportunity to make another play.”
Stock down
Tight end Jonnu Smith had his worst game as a Patriot, catching just one pass for 6 yards on six targets. The day was punctuated in the third quarter when he bobbled a pass from Jones and tipped it in the air to safety Malcolm Jenkins, who promptly returned it 34 yard for a touchdown.
Injuries
Saints: Armstead left in the first quarter with a left elbow injury and was replaced by James Hurst.
Patriots: RB James White was carted off the field early in the second quarter with a hip injury after landing awkwardly as he was tackled by Damario Davis.
Honoring Edelman
The Patriots held a halftime tribute to receiver Julian Edelman, who announced his retirement in April after 11 seasons.
The Super Bowl 53 MVP kicked off the ceremony with his trademark run out of the tunnel and sprint from end zone to end zone. Standing in front of representations for each of the three Patriots championships he was a part of, he said Foxborough would always hold a special place for his family.
“We lived you guys, we breathed you guys and we will die with you guys,” he said.
Up next
Saints: host the Giants on Sunday.
Patriots: host former quarterback Tom Brady and the Buccaneers next Sunday.
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