New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is adamant that his side have to improve quickly ahead of the new season following their defeat to the Washington Redskins in the pre-season opener.

The Patriots lost 23-6 to the Redskins as Belichick opted to rest the majority of his starters for the contest, and saw his defense and backup quarterback Ryan Mallett struggle at FedEx Field.

Belichick told reporters: "I think we played competitively, but we just didn't overall play very well or play with the kind of awareness and concentration and execution that we need to.

"That's all of us. We've got to do a better job of coaching, we've got to do a better job of playing, we've got to do a better job of just getting things right out on the football field and taking some of the drill work and applying it real game conditions and situations. We didn't always transfer that."

The Patriots face the Philadelphia Eagles in their second pre-season game.