FOXBORO — Patriots wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster dropped the pass that led to a game-sealing interception in Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the Commanders.

He took full responsibility for the play post-game.

“It’s all on me. (Mac Jones) put the ball in a good position. I just have to make the catch, secure it, and now we’re in field goal range,” he said. “Obviously, I didn’t do that, and we fell short.”

Recalling the play, Smith-Schuster remembered he found open space over the middle. Jones bounced in the pocket, while most of the Patriots pass-catchers labored off the line at Washington’s 41, gassed by a long fourth quarter. Jones rifled a late pass over the middle, which hit Smith-Schuster in both hands but instead found Commanders safety Jartavius Martin.

“Middle of the field was open,” Smith-Schuster said. “Ran an in-cut. It was a good ball, went through my hands, interception. Game over.”

Smith-Schuster tackled Martin at Washington’s 33-yard line, then remained on the field staring into the distance in disbelief. He’d taken over for second-round rookie Tyquan Thornton, who was benched after a miserable first half. Thornton caught just one pass on four targets for seven yards, including an out route where poor route-running contributed to an incompletion. Meanwhile, Smith-Schuster saw just five snaps before halftime.

Despite his lack of playing time, Smith-Schuster said he was not frustrated. The Patriots made him their fifth receiver in last weekend’s loss at Miami, where he caught one pass for a 3-yard touchdown. At the end of Sunday’s loss, he finished with a team-high six grabs for 51 yards.

Among those was a fourth-down catch that sustained the final drive and Jones highlighted in his post-game press conference.

“I think JuJu made a great play the play before or we wouldn’t even be in that situation. I just went through my reads and fired it in there. It was just a bang-bang play,” Jones said of the interception. “Obviously when you lose the game, it’s frustrating. It’s not on one person or one player at all. Like I said, JuJu made some great plays.

“We’re all in it together. I can throw a better ball, protect him a little bit more, all that stuff. I’ll watch the film, like I said, see what I can do to fix my part.”

Patriots coach Bill Belichick offered a brief assessment of the play post-game.

“I don’t think it was really the read (that) was wrong. Don’t want to lose the ball there. We’re in field goal range – it’s a long kick. But the ball gets tipped up in the air, made an interception.”

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Smith-Schuster’s ongoing struggles encapsulate what’s been a troubling position for the Patriots all season, especially after losing leading receiver Kendrick Bourne to a torn ACL last week. After signing a 3-year, $25.5 million deal in free agency, Smith-Schuster finally crossed 100 yards on the season Sunday in his seventh game appearance. Back in September, he did not finish the Pats’ season-opening loss to Philadelphia, when the staff sat him for sixth-round rookie Kayshon Boutte.

Since then, Boutte has been a healthy scratch, even after the team was down to five healthy receivers this week, and Belichick told reporters the LSU product had enjoyed “probably” his best week as a pro. Against Washington, the Patriots fielded four wideouts: Smith-Schuster, Thornton, Boutte and former practice-squad signee Jalen Reagor.

Reagor caught one of six targets for 11 yards and did not see the field on the Patriots’ final drive. He dropped what would have been Jones’ longest completion on a play-action deep shot in the third quarter; a mistake forgotten in the aftermath of Smith-Schuster’s game-killing gaffe.

The Patriots have now lost four one-possession games this season, including three at home.

“Yeah, that’s tough, that’s tough,” Smith-Schuster said. “I think the biggest thing in that is to just keep believing, keep having faith. You know, don’t lose that. The hard part is we know what we’re capable of doing, and not be able to go out there and do it.”