After New England’s 38-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he pulled quarterback Mac Jones in the third quarter because he didn’t see “any point to leaving him in the game.”

As New England’s touchdown total has dropped from three in its first game to two in the second to one in the third and none against the Cowboys, Belichick’s statement could have caused Patriots fans to wonder if the coach’s sentiment covered only Sunday’s game.

It did.

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When New England takes on the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Jones will be back at quarterback.

“Anybody who plays or coaches in this league has not-so-good performances somewhere along the line,” Belichick said, “so part of the job, part of the situation. Every week’s a new week. Mac’s pretty mentally tough. So is everybody else around here. I mean, you have to be in this league. If it just goes from bad to worse, then you’re not going to be around very long. We all get knocked down. Got to get up and go back in the ring.”

And the Patriots will be expecting a better performance from the former Alabama All-American against New Orleans than he had against Dallas.

“We have a lot of belief in Mac,” New England offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien said.

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In his 36th NFL game, Jones posted one of his worst set of stats on Sunday. Jones completed 12-of-21 passes for 150 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. One of the interceptions was returned 54 yards for a touchdown, and Jones also lost a fumble that Dallas returned 11 yards for a touchdown.

“Mac’s a battler; he’s a competitor,” O’Brien said. “When you play quarterback in this league, you have to limit the mistakes and you have to limit the bad games you have, obviously. We’re all in it together. We’ve got to do a better job of coaching up some things with him a little bit better. He’s got to do a better job of making good decisions for us. He knows that.”

Sunday’s game was the fifth time in his career that Jones played at least a half and he threw more interceptions than touchdown passes.

“I thought that last game, for Mac, some of the decisions that he made were very uncharacteristic of Mac,” O’Brien said. “And I think he’ll get back to doing it the way he knows how to do it. He’s just trying to make a play. He’s wanting to win. He’s very competitive.

“Maybe the plays weren’t great, so I have to be involved in that big-time with him. I understand that. I think you’ll see a lot of improvement in Mac as we keep moving forward here.”

A consensus All-American at Alabama in 2020 and a Pro Bowl participant as an NFL rookie in 2021, Jones said he knows he can play winning football for New England.

“Confidence is something that comes from years of practice, and it grows over time,” Jones said. “I think that’s what I have to look back on is I’ve played well at times, and I just have got to be more consistent. I know it’s there. Like I said, just focus on my job, play-by-play, take the emotion out of it and go out there and try and distribute the ball to the right people.”

The Patriots and Saints kick off at noon CDT Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

“I think, for me, I just got to go out there and win some games,” Jones said. “And that’s what it all comes down to is going out there and doing my part. I’m working hard. I know I can do it. I have to believe in myself. And I didn’t really give them a lot to believe in the other night. But I will show that I can do it. And that comes from hard work and trusting myself and trusting them.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.