Howe is hopeful his team can rediscover their form ahead of the final part of the season.
"I think the break probably came at a good time for us, on reflection," he said. "At the time I felt we wanted to play as soon as we could, but I think it gave the players a chance to detach. The majority went away internationally.
"For us that were here, there was a group of six players that we trained with and all the staff, we were very much focused on reflection and analysis and team performances, so we've gone into a very analytical mode to try and focus on the next seven games and try and get back to our very best form.
"Very quickly, our focus went to that. Criticism's part of when you lose big games like that. You know that's part of the deal and we've had to take that and are fully prepared to do so."
Newcastle Team News
In his pre-match press conference, Howe confirmed captain Bruno Guimaraes would miss Sunday's game after it was previously thought he would make a return.
"Bruno suffered, as probably the majority know, from mumps on his return from Brazil," he said. "That's delayed his return, so he will not be involved in this game."
Fabian Schar, Emil Krafth and Sven Botman all still out. However, midfielder Lewis Miley could return for the Magpies.