Mac Jones Benched, New England Patriots' Stars Injured in Disastrous Defeat at Dallas Cowboys
The New England Patriots (1-3) were dominated seemingly from the start on Sunday afternoon, taking a 38-3 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys (3-1) inside AT&T Stadium.
The 35-point loss is the largest in Patriots coach Bill Belichick's illustrious career, adding salt to the wound on a day in which little went right.
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones had a dreadful outing, tossing two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Cowboys cornerback Daron Bland, and losing a fumble that was also taken to the endzone by linebacker Leighton Vander Esch.
Jones was benched late in the third quarter for backup Bailey Zappe, who completed four of nine passes for 57 yards in mop-up duty.
To make matters worse, New England lost two of its best defensive players to injury in Matthew Judon and Christian Gonzalez (shoulder). Neither player re-appeared after departing, leaving their future availability unknown.
The Patriots mustered only 253 total yards of offense and struggled to get the ground game rolling, with Rhamondre Stevenson's 30 yards on 14 carries leading the team. New England recorded 53 rushing yards and averaged just 2.3 yards per carry as a team.
Defensively, the Patriots struggled to contain the Cowboys' aerial attack, as Dak Prescott completed 28 of 34 passes for 261 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in a surgical performance.
Dallas also had a steady day on the ground, taking 30 carries for 124 yards and a touchdown.
But ultimately, the story of the game is New England's offense generating not only more scoring opportunities but points for the Cowboys than itself, which may cause Belichick to seriously re-evaluate his options under center.
Further, walking away with a 35-point loss is never ideal, but losing two high-impact defenders only adds insult to injury, making Sunday's game certainly one to forget.
The Patriots will look to bounce back next Sunday in Foxboro when the New Orleans Saints (2-2) come to Gillette Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
