Mac Jones' ankle grab on Brian Burns was stupid and dirty.
Perhaps not to the level it has grown to -- with players around the NFL and national pundits alike taking the rookie quarterback to the woodshed -- but the overarching point is correct.
The Patriots signal-caller has come under fire for a play that injured the Carolina Panthers defensive end in New England's 24-6 win on Sunday. Jones was strip-sacked by Burns, and a chase began for the loose ball. As Burns attempted to get up and go after the football, Jones clutched onto his ankle and was dragged by Burns until the Panthers defender twisted to try getting out of the grip.
Burns was injured on the play (he did continue, however), and while Bill Belichick defended his quarterback, the Panthers were none too pleased with Jones afterward,
They're right.
Good for Jones (kind of) for having the presence of mind to try slowing down a player instead of just laying there, but plays like that can railroad careers. It was not a "football play" and just reflects poorly on Jones. The only time you see something like that happen, where a guy is taken down by his ankles, is when a player is trying to make a tackle. Jones was doing it away from the ball, so it's not the same thing.
And while Jones might have just had a knee-jerk reaction and decided to do whatever he could to slow down Burns -- even if his intent wasn't malicious -- it was a nonsense move and should have been penalized. Jones should have just let him go, especially since they were far enough away from the play that there was no shot Burns was getting to the ball.
Ultimately, that's what makes it worse: Burns didn't really have a good play on the ball by the time Jones decided to clutch onto him.
The argument is out there that Burns shouldn't have twisted, but that seems like a pretty natural reaction to try escaping from a grip. Even if Burns hadn't been injured on the play, Jones shouldn't have been clinging to his ankle in the first place.
Sure, it might ring hollow that the Panthers, after losing, are taking aim at the opposing quarterback and calling him dirty. It makes it easier to dismiss their argument as sour grapes, but there is credence to it because it was a dirty play regardless of the game's end result.
Jones is not a dirty player, and any take on this argument should be done with the understanding that a typically clean player can make dirty plays. In this case, he made a dirty play, and the Panthers are right to be miffed.
