Howe concedes they were "poor" on the day, later admitting he could've taken off the entire XI at halftime.
Howe said: "The numbers aren't good for us in terms of our away form so it would be foolish for me to dismiss that outright.
"We have a very good group of professionals who care deeply and want to do well. But certainly we have not replicated our home form away. We have not got the points we wanted away from home. Some of the performances were very good, we just didn't turn them into wins.
"Today was a dip in terms of performance. That was the worst we have played during that run of games. A period of reflection for us is important.
"I was really disappointed with the first half. It started so well, we scored early. We let it slip away and the longer that went on the more frustrated I was with my performance.
"We were unrecognisable in certain aspects of our game. I made the change to try to bring some energy, different dynamics, different relationships on the pitch, I thought we were better in the second half, but not great and that is why we lost the game."
Everything was wrong
Howe also stated, "I don't think it looked like a Newcastle team that we have seen in recent seasons. The body language, the collective spirit on the pitch, loads of little things weren't there. I don't think it was tactical or technical. It was a by-product of us not being where we wanted to be mentally.
"We have done a lot of work with the players but this is a difficult one to work out right now and try to learn from today. Hopefully it is a turning point we can use to our advantage."
He added: "I could have taken anyone off. That is a reflection of where we were at that stage of the game.
"It is very rare for me to feel that way. I don't think I have since I have been Newcastle manager. I felt that the team needed shaking up at half-time, that's why I did what I did."