When the reporters at press conferences ask if an NFL team is planning to change quarterbacks for its next game, the season isn’t going well. The New England Patriots are at that point.

The Dallas Cowboy defeated the Patriots 38-3 on Oct. 1 – New England’s biggest loss since a 45-7 setback against the New York Jets on Sept. 26, 1993.

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The Patriots followed that lopsided loss with a 34-0 blanking by the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. New England hadn’t been beaten by more than 34 points at home since Nov. 1, 1970, when the Buffalo Bills beat the Boston Patriots 45-10 at Harvard Stadium.

New England quarterback Mac Jones didn’t make it to the fourth quarter of either game. When he was on the field, the former Alabama All-America completed 24-of-43 passes for 260 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions. Two of the interceptions were returned for touchdowns, and Jones also lost a fumble that was run in for a touchdown.

The first question for Patriots coach Bill Belichick at his Wednesday press conference was: Will Mac Jones be starting on Sunday?

“Yeah,” Belichick said. “We’re not making any changes.”

On Tuesday, New England offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien had been asked if he thought Jones would remain the Patriots’ starting QB after being pulled from the previous two games.

After saying he did, O’Brien was asked if allowing Jones to sit for a game to reset would be a good idea.

“There’s no time for mental breaks,” O’Brien said. “Those are on your days off, I guess, you can take a little mental break. But it’s the grind of the season. In order to be in this league as a coach, as a player, as anybody in this league, you have to be mentally tough.”

O’Brien said all New England’s offensive problems could not be blamed on Jones, although some could.

“There are definitely things that he can do better whether it’s footwork or the read of a route or the check of a play or whatever it is,” O’Brien said. “But there’s also 10 other guys out there on the field, and all 10 of those guys will come in here and tell you ‘There’s things I need to do better.’ …

“As the quarterback, you’re the focal point – everybody understands that — so you shoulder a lot of the blame. But at the end of the day, it’s a team sport and we all have to do a better job.”

That starts with eliminating the turnovers. In the Patriots’ lone 2023 victory, New England defeated the New York Jets 15-10 on Sept. 24 without losing a fumble or throwing an interception. In their other four games, the Patriots lost 10 turnovers, including three apiece in the past two outings.

“We’re turning the ball over too much,” O’Brien said. “That’s the No. 1 thing. We’ve got to stop turning the ball over. We got to take care of the ball. And so we got to start there.”

Jones said on Wednesday he appreciated the Patriots sticking with him and was working with the coaches on turning around New England’s season.

“What can I do better?” Jones said. “You know, what are the actual issues? Instead of just throwing stuff up in the air, let’s look at the tape, like the plays in the game, 11-on-11 and really see what’s going on. That’s the important part to me because you can always try to problem-solve that way. But when you’re kind of just chasing different things and narratives and things like that, it’s hard, right? But when you sit in the room together and look at the tape, there’s a lot of things that you can be like ‘OK, I’m going to do this or I’m going to try to do this drop on this play or read it this way,’ or whatever. …

“At the same time, you want it to be really good on game days. That’s where I’ve been disappointed with myself because it hasn’t been great on game day. So why hasn’t it been? That’s something I’m focused on.”

Jones joined New England as the 15th selection in the 2021 NFL Draft after becoming the first Alabama quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season as the Crimson Tide won the 2020 CFP national championship with an undefeated record.

The Patriots chose to start Jones from the first game of his rookie season instead of retaining incumbent quarterback Cam Newton. Jones played in the Pro Bowl and New England went to the playoffs in his rookie season.

During an appearance on “RG3 and the Ones,” Newton said New England needed patience with Jones, who is on his third NFL offensive coordinator.

“Mac’s a baller, bro, and I saw this hands-on,” Newton said. “Ultimate worker, ultimate competitor. He got that Alabama in him, so it was like can’t really crack the code sometimes. I’d be like, ‘Bro, loosen up. We’re straight. We’re teammates.’

“Playing in Boston is a different beast, and I was playing there in the COVID year, so I didn’t even see the crowd most of my time that I was there. But hearing the sports reporters, the news outlets, this and that, Belichick has been able to manage it the best he knows how. But does he listen to it? He probably does. But at the same time, I don’t think we’ve seen the best version of Mac Jones yet. It’s growing pains, but ultimately comes down to the coaching staff.”

But as with the coaches, Newton said Jones needs to eliminate the turnovers.

“I can just say this for Mac Jones, and being there I can say just how much of a point of emphasis it is: Protect the football,” Newton said. “He has some ugly interceptions. Those unforced errors — that was just you knowing better, but you’re still trying to make a play.”

The Patriots play the Las Vegas Raiders at 3:05 p.m. CDT Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

“There’s a lot of season left,” O’Brien said. “There’s always obituaries being written, but there’s a lot of football to be played, so let’s see if we can get better. I think the NFL is always about who can improve the fastest. We have a long way to go, don’t get me wrong. But, hopefully, we can get there.”

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