How Patriots’ LA Trip Threw Off Mac Jones’ Unusual Sleep Schedule

Mac Jones eats an unconventional meal of steak, eggs and spaghetti before every New England Patriots game.

His sleep schedule is similarly unorthodox.

Jones told the CBS broadcast team for Sunday’s Patriots-Los Angeles Chargers game that he typically goes to bed at 8:30 p.m. ET and wakes up at 4:45 a.m. He likes to be at the Patriots’ facility by 6:30 a.m.

“By the time I get there,” CBS play-by-play man Ian Eagle quoted Jones as saying, “there are already 100 cars in the parking lot.”

You won’t find many 23-year-olds — even 23-year-old professional athletes — who go lights-out before 9 p.m. on a typical night. Jones’ Patriots predecessor, Cam Newton, also would wake up around 4:30 a.m. but wouldn’t go to bed until after 11.

The rookie’s unusually early bedtime required some adjustments when the Patriots traveled to Pacific Time for the first time this season.

“We talked to Mac Jones (on Saturday night), just asking him, ‘Hey, how are you feeling behind out here?’ ” Eagle said during the game broadcast. “He was like, ‘Well, this is the latest I’ve been up for a while because of the time change.’ “

“I should probably give Mac my AARP card,” analyst Charles Davis cracked.

Jones looked like he was sleepwalking at times Sunday at SoFi Stadium — he went just 2-for-13 during one stretch and completed a season-low 51.4% of his passes overall — but recovered to lead an 11-play, 55-yard drive that drained nearly seven minutes off the clock and yielded what proved to be the deciding Nick Folk field goal in a 27-24 victory. Jones went 4-for-4 on that pivotal possession and picked up a first down with a quarterback sneak.

The Patriots stayed the night in Los Angeles after the win before flying back to New England on Monday.