Not even a Week 9 matchup with the struggling Washington Commanders could save the New England Patriots from falling to 2-7 on the season.
It’s shocking to think this is the same Patriots team that somehow knocked off the Buffalo Bills in Week 7. The team that beat the Bills must have somehow caught lightning in a bottle because the version that showed up on Sunday looked terrible on all levels.
Offense, defense and special teams—it was all bad for the Patriots.
They had an opportunity to save the game late, but a pass from quarterback Mac Jones bobbled off of JuJu Smith-Schuster’s hands and turned into an interception for the Commanders to close out the game.
It was a completely fitting ending for this version of the Patriots. Here are the studs and duds from the game for New England after their 20-17 loss to the Commanders: