Fall In New England: It Was Clearly Not Patriots Day In Foxborough As Saints Still Shocked At Boos

NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans Saints defensive back Tyrann Mathieu could not believe his ears.

On a crisp fall day in New England at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., he heard boos in the Patriots' Palace, virtually from beginning to end. And they were not booing the Saints, a mediocre team this season who destroyed coach Bill Belichick's once-proud Super Bowl brand, 34-0.

Saints' Tyrann Mathieu Not Used To New England Fall

"Heh, heh, heh," Mathieu laughed Thursday afternoon at the Saints' facility. "I mean, that was the first for me, hearing them booed."

The Saints handed New England a 34-0 loss - the worst home shutout loss in Patriots' franchise history. And this came just a week after the worst loss of a Belichick team anywhere - 38-3 at Dallas.

"Most times, I've played those guys, it's always been tight, contested games," Mathieu said.

Mathieu was with the Houston Texans in 2018 when they lost 27-20 at New England, which went on to win its last Super Bowl. With Kansas City in 2019, the Chiefs won 23-16 at New England. The Patriots went on to win the AFC East while Kansas City won Super Bowl LIV.

Patriots Booed Virtually From Beginning To End Vs. Saints

"It was weird," said Mathieu, whose 27-yard interception return of a Mac Jones pass put New Orleans up 7-0 in the first quarter. "The momentum was on our side for the most part of the game."

Tyrann Mathieu (32) celebrates with Saints Marshon Lattimore (23), Demario Davis (56) and Marcus Maye (6) after Maye's pick vs. Tennessee this season. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Yes, the boos started early and really reached the proverbial 11 on the volume dial as the half ended with the Saints up 21-0.

Saints' offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. has heard those, but directed at him, particularly recently as the Saints have been one of the NFL's worst offenses this season.

"Well, I think that's just part of it," Carmichael said Thursday. "Obviously, they've had so much success over the last, I guess, 25 years."

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Belichick has won an NFL record six Super Bowls with the Patriots from the 2001 season through 2018.

Carmichael was the Saints' offensive coordinator under then-head coach Sean Payton for a 28-13 win at New England in the 2021 season. The Patriots finished 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. In 2013, the Patriots beat Carmichael and Payton, 30-27, in Foxborough on their way to the Super Bowl title. That was New England's third straight home win over New Orleans going back to 2001.

"It could happen anywhere," Carmichael said.

Just usually not in New England since Belichick, 71, became coach before the 2000 season.

"Plain and simply, we've got to find a way to play and coach better than that," Belichick said after the loss to New Orleans. "So, that's what we're going to do - start all over, and get back on a better track than we're on right now."

Saints coach Dennis Allen enjoyed it, no matter how bad the Patriots (1-4) are this season or how bad they will become. New England lost 38-3 the previous week at Dallas. The Pats(ies) play at Las Vegas (2-3) on Sunday (4:05 p.m., CBS).

"You come into somebody's place and you win a game like that, shut somebody out 34-0, it can't get any more of a team victory," Allen said to the team in the locker room in New England.

The Saints (3-2) play at Houston (2-3) on Sunday (1 p.m., FOX) as a 1.5-point favorite.

"It's no surprise to me," Allen said. "That's my team. That's the team that we should be, that we can be."

That was not your father's, brother's or sister's New England Patriots team, however.

"Yeah, man, that was a first," Mathieu said, "seeing them like that."