The Patriots played poorly in all three phases of the game in an ugly 28-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Offensively, the Patriots mustered only 13 points as rookie quarterback Mac Jones (30-51 270 yds, 1TD) was under siege all afternoon. Jones was sacked twice and threw three interceptions including a pick six to Malcolm Jenkins.

The offensive line, which was a strength last season has been a liability thus far this season. They have struggled in five, six and seven man protections. Jones has only been sacked six times thus far this season but he has been under constant pressure and it has affected the offense.

When asked about the performance of the offensive line, Belichick didn’t mince words.

“Again, just today we were inconsistent in every area. We’ve just got to do a better job. Go back and look at the film, make some corrections. Obviously, New Orleans has a good defense, but we’ve got to move the ball better than we did today. Play better in the defense. Play better in the kicking game.”

The running game was a non factor as well as the Patriots only rushed for 49 yards. The running game has to be better because the Patriots are not built to throw the ball 51 times like they did today. Belichick echoed that sentiment today.

“When you’re having to throw every down, it’s never a good position to be in. We don’t ever want to be in that situation.”

The defense, which was supposed to be among the best in the NFL has been very inconsistent thus far. They had their moments today sacking Saints quarterback Jameis Winston three times but they struggled to stop the run as the Saints rushed for 142 yards. The inability to get off the field on third down was also an issue. The Patriots clearly miss Stephon Gilmore.

Special teams were no better as the Patriots had a punt blocked, the first of Jake Bailey’s career. The block gave the Saints a short field but the Patriots caught a break when Saints kicker Aldrick Rosas missed a 36 yard field goal.

The word that keeps coming to mind when I think of the Patriots performance today is lethargic. They went through the motions today which is never a good thing. They can’t afford to do that next week as Tom Brady and the Buccaneers come to town for what is arguably the biggest regular season game in Patriots history.

For what it is worth, Bill Belichick down played it after the game.

“Obviously, they’re a good team. Right now we’re just focused on New Orleans. Look at the film, make the corrections on that, then we’ll move on.”

Probably not a bad idea given how poorly the Patriots played today.