The New England offense scored three touchdowns in the season-opening game, two touchdowns in the second game, one touchdown in the third game and no touchdowns in the fourth game. Was there any lower the Patriots could sink in their fifth game?

It turned out there was. After losing to the Dallas Cowboys 38-3 last week, New England didn’t score at all this week as the New Orleans Saints left Gillette Stadium with a 34-0 victory on Sunday.

“Obviously, it was a poor performance here today,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, “so just plain and simple we got to find a way to play and coach better than that, so that’s what we’ll do. Start all over and get back on a better track than we are right now.”

But it didn’t sound as though starting over would include making a change at quarterback.

“Yeah,” Belichick said when asked if Mac Jones would remain the starting quarterback. “There were a lot of problems. It certainly wasn’t all him.”

After losing three turnovers against Dallas, New England lost three again versus New Orleans.

Also duplicated in this game: The Patriots pulled Jones in the second half.

After the loss to the Cowboys, Belichick said he didn’t see any point in leaving the former Alabama All-American in the game.

On Sunday, Belichick explained his decision to bench Jones succinctly.

“It was 31-0,” Belichick said.

Against New Orleans, Jones completed 12-of-22 passes for 110 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions before departing after the Patriots’ final possession of the third quarter. His 30.5 passing-efficiency rating was the worst of his career, except for a game in which he played only three series because of an ankle injury.

“We definitely need to be better as an offense,” Jones said. “Really feel like we need to take on the challenge and do what we can to be better.”

When defensive end Curtis Granderson hit Jones as he threw on third down on New England’s second possession, the football fluttered out of the quarterback’s hand. New Orleans safety Tyrann Mathieu caught it and ran 27 yards for the game’s first touchdown.

On Jones’ second interception, wide receiver Ty Montgomery had the football in his hands. But when hit by safety Jordan Howden, Montgomery lost the handle and linebacker Pete Werner grabbed football out of the air.

The play was the final one for Jones on Sunday, with Bailey Zappe coming in for the fourth quarter.

With a 1-4 record for the first time since the 2000 season, New England visits the Las Vegas Raiders at 3:05 p.m. CDT Sunday.

“Got to look at the film and get better,” Jones said. “Got to do a lot of things better to win in this league. …

“We definitely need to be better as an offense. Really feel like we need to take on the challenge and do what we can to be better.”

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