Mac Jones led the first second-half comeback of his young New England Patriots career Sunday. But there was at least one throw the rookie quarterback wishes he had back.
Less than a minute into the second half of New England’s eventual 25-22 win over the Houston Texans, Jones fired an off-target pass that was intercepted by safety Lonnie Johnson.
Jones took the blame for the turnover after the game, saying he didn’t step into his throw properly.
“I just didn’t throw the ball very well,” he told reporters. “Protection was fine. It was just a bad throw, and I didn’t step into it like I know how to do. I wish I had it back, but I’ve run that play a thousand times and completed it a lot, so I’ll watch it on film and figure out what I could have done better. But the timing was good. The route was fine. It was just me making a bad throw.”
Jones faced pressure on the play from defensive tackle Roy Lopez, who’d muscled past reserve guard James Ferentz. His throw sailed to the left of wide receiver Nelson Agholor, who could have made a more aggressive play on the ball.
The Texans capitalized on the giveaway, scoring a touchdown two plays later to take a 22-9 lead.
Jones had at least three other passes that could or should have been intercepted by Texans defenders. But he overcame those miscues, completing 12 of his final 13 passes as the Patriots erased a 13-point third-quarter deficit.
Overall, Jones went 23-for-30 for 231 yards and a touchdown with one pick, posting a completion rate above 73 percent for the fourth time in five games.
“We just out-competed,” Jones told reporters. “I don’t know if we outplayed the other team, but we definitely out-competed, and that’s all we can ask ourselves to do. There’s a lot of stuff that I’m going to watch on film and wish I had back, but sometimes it’s just — you’ve just got to find a way to win, and it feels better to not play as well and win but learn at the same time than play OK and end up losing. So, the win feels good.”
The 2-3 Patriots will host the 4-1 Dallas Cowboys this Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
