Mac Jones naturally has improved over the course of his first New England Patriots season. One key area of improvement has been ball security.
Jones committed seven turnovers over his first six NFL starts, tossing six interceptions and losing one fumble. Two of those interceptions were returned for touchdowns.
But since the Patriots kicked off their seven-game win streak in Week 7, Jones has largely eliminated those types of mistakes from his game. The rookie quarterback has just three turnovers over his last seven games: interceptions against the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons and a strip-sack against Carolina.
“I think (it’s) just playing within the offense, understanding how to win games, what teams do bad, and exposing that,” Jones said Wednesday when asked about his sharp dec. “I’ve obviously been taught my whole football life that when you don’t turn the ball over, good things happen. The more you can do that, the more you can play within your offensive scheme, the better. I can continue to do a good job there.”
This trend has applied to the Patriots’ entire offense. New England has turned the ball over just five times during its win streak — including N’Keal Harry’s botched punt return in Monday’s victory over the Buffalo Bills — while racking up 18 takeaways.
Last week, head coach Bill Belichick pointed to this decline in giveaways and uptick in turnovers as a key reason for the Patriots’ midseason turnaround.
“We’ve just been doing a better job with it,” Jones said. “Everyone has. The fumbles and interceptions were my fault for the most part, obviously, because you can’t throw it to the other team. It’s an area to improve on, but you also can’t be gun-shy or anything like that. You’ve just got to go out there and try to throw it to the right guy.”
Jones didn’t turn the ball over against the Bills, but he also wasn’t asked to do much, attempting just three total passes amid extreme winds at Highmark Stadium. The 9-4 Patriots have their bye this weekend before visiting the Indianapolis Colts next Saturday night.
