Wow. Good thing the Gillette Stadium stands were empty.

Here’s the biggest question following the worst home loss in the Bill Belichick Era of the New England Patriots:

What’s wrong with Cam Newton?

You all saw it. Was that the same quarterback during the Patriots 33-6 drubbing at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers at Gillette Stadium who the talk show callers wanted to lavish with a contract extension after the first two or three games?

That leads you to believe after he went an abysmal 9 of 15 for 98 yards and three interceptions – a QB rating, mind you, of 39.7 – and was mercifully benched for Jarrett Stidham in the third quarter of this debacle that he’s hurting. Let’s remember, this is a QB who NFL teams backed off from because they were worried about his shoulder. This is also an NFL QB who tested positive for the coronavirus and reportedly was asymptomatic but won’t really confirm it.

His timing is completely off. His throws either sail or bounce or simply miss the target, get deflected and then wind up in the hands of the opposing defense.

“Yes, sir” and “It’s fine” were the answers to questions about his health/shoulder. Newton says he knows what the issue is, but when pressed, he said, “Me not playing good” and that the solution was, “It’s simple. Play better.”

Now let’s not lose focus of the entire evening. The Patriots stunk all over. Their defense allowed the immortal North Texas alum Jeff Wilson, Jr. to run for 112 yards and three TDs until he seemingly blew out his ankle on the third and had to leave the game in what looked like near tears. The same tears Patriot fans are shedding now when they saw Niners QB and former Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo hold his own – steady, not spectacular – and then heard some guy named Brady tossed four TD passes and has his team on a roll.

Yikes. Suddenly Belichick isn’t looking too good here, is he.

“We were clearly out-coached, outplayed,” he said. “Just out-everything. … We’re not performing at a good level right now in any area. So that’s across the board.”

Right now the board Patriot fans have in mind is the one for the draft. They’re wondering what QB might be available when the Patriots pick, and maybe why one wasn’t taken this past April.

As we said, it wasn’t like this three weeks ago. Newton and the Patriots were 2-1, and Colorful Cam was movin and shakin to the beat. Now he just looks beaten.

“One thing that can’t happen is I can’t allow myself to feel sorry for myself,” Newton said. “I know what the issue is and you just have to attack it and do better. …

“I can’t speak for everybody. I just stick to the man in the mirror and I wasn’t good enough. I didn’t – in no way, shape or form did I put this team in a position to compete, and that’s inexcusable. This s the National Football League where a lot is put on the quarterback and I have to deliver, and I haven’t done that.

“Quite frankly, it’s evident.”

That’s the best thing about Newton since he’s been here, he faces the music and is accountable. Belichick was asked whether or not Newton would be his starting QB going forward, starting with next week at Buffalo. Gulp.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Belichick said. “Just wanted to give Stid (Stidham) a little experience here.”

Of course Newton will. Who else is there? Stidham has no experience and it shows. Brian Hoyer? We saw how that went in Kansas City and he’s been a healthy scratch since.

Meanwhile, Garoppolo was all smiles, and why shouldn’t he be.

“Yeah, it was a cool week,” he said. “Just a lot of emotions, a lot of memories. Especially coming back here, seeing the same stadium, hearing the same songs they used to play…”

Those songs suddenly are changing as the only ones the Patriots and their fans right now are singing are the blues.

Tom King can be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com, or on twitter @Telegraph _TomK.

Newsletter