Patriots Mailbag: One Big Question Facing Mac Jones For Home Stretch

It’s the bye week for the New England Patriots, but not for the Patriots mailbag. Let’s dive right into your questions as New England enjoys its long-awaited weekend off:

@jcrispo87
We’ve seen dominant defense and offense win games this year. The missing piece of a SB team is having a QB that can pull a late comeback. If the Bills had scored their final drive, would Mac have salvaged the game? Do you think down 4 with 2 minutes left he can beat great teams?
That’s the biggest unanswered question with this Patriots team, in my opinion. They’ve proven they can blow out opponents, grind them down with their powerful run game and suffocate them with their top-ranked defense. Mac Jones has enjoyed a stellar season by rookie standards.

But can he succeed in the type of late-game situation you outlined: New England ball in the final minutes, long field, needing a touchdown to win? We can’t say for sure, because we haven’t seen it yet. The Patriots have trailed in the fourth quarter just once during their seven-game win streak (Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers), and they overcame that deficit with an Adrian Phillips pick-six.

Jones did lead late, go-ahead scoring drives against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys in October, but the Patriots went on to lose both of those games. He also likely would have had another in Week 1 had Damien Harris not fumbled in the Miami Dolphins’ red zone.

So, it’s not like Jones has zero experience in these crunch-time situations. But can he engineer a game-winning two-minute drill? That’s one thing he still needs to prove.

@sibbetteth
How’s Damien Harris’ hamstring?
Another big question facing the Patriots as they prepare for the home stretch. We haven’t heard any updates on Harris’ condition, and with New England taking the entire week off from practice, we don’t know whether he would have been healthy enough to participate.

I did view it as a good sign that Harris was on the sideline for the end of Monday night’s game and appeared to be in good spirits when he made an appearance in the press conference room postgame. (He did not speak with reporters.) Regardless, he’ll have an extra week to heal up ahead of next Saturday night’s matchup with the Indianapolis Colts.

The same is true for Phillips, who suffered an apparent knee injury on the game’s penultimate play. The veteran safety tweeted what appeared to be a positive update after the game, but there’s been no update on his status. He and Harris both were impact players against Buffalo, finishing with two third-down pass breakups and 111 rushing yards and a touchdown, respectively.

The break also should allow the Patriots to get starting safety Kyle Dugger back from the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Regrading Patriots’ Free Agent Class: Who’s Made Greatest Impact?

Dec 9, 2021

@DRLevchem
What’s the likelihood that the Pats will be able to hold on to Jerrod Mayo? Seems like he is a critical part of the defensive coaching staff this year, and I hear his name floated for HC jobs.
Seems to be reasonably high. Mayo has appeared on multiple head coach watch lists in recent weeks and is likely to generate interest in this year’s hiring cycle, which will begin in earnest next month.

You can see similarities between his situation and the one Brian Flores faced a few years back. Flores impressed the Arizona Cardinals in his first head-coaching interview in 2017, then was hired by the Miami Dolphins one year later. It’s not difficult to envision Mayo, who reportedly left a positive impression when he interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles last winter, following the same path.

There are some key differences between 2018 Flores and 2021 Mayo, though. The former had been coaching in the NFL for a decade at that point and was the Patriots’ defensive play-caller in ’18. Mayo was lauded for his leadership during his successful playing career, but he’s in just his third season as a coach at any level, and he isn’t calling New England’s defensive plays, though he does share de facto coordinator duties with Bill and Steve Belichick.

Still, folks around the NFL clearly think highly of the Patriots’ inside linebackers coach. And with how well the team has developed Jones this season, it’s possible both Mayo and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels could land head-coaching gigs this year.

@mikezarbo
Does the buffalo game hurt Mac’s chances of offensive rookie of the year? The win is important but there are no real stats for him, that has to hurt his chances, right?
Did throwing the ball just three times Monday night improve Jones’ Rookie of the Year odds? No. But I don’t think it really hurt them, either. In a tight race, sure, it would be helpful to have another productive statistical performance on his record, but it really isn’t close at this point.

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase hasn’t been able to maintain his insane first-half pace, and he was Jones’ only legitimate competition for this honor. DraftKings Sportsbook currently has Jones as a -500 favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year, with Chase a distant second at +350. Unless Jones completely craters down the stretch, the award is his.

@FatherOfCoins
Is this the Pats best draft class ever?
It’s hard to say “ever” at this stage of the game. I look back at the 1995 draft that produced two Hall of Famers in Ty Law and Curtis Martin, plus Ted Johnson. Or 1996 with Lawyer Milloy and Tedy Bruschi (and Terry Glenn). There have been great ones throughout the Bill Belichick era, too. (We ranked them all back in 2020.)

But this one definitely has all-time potential, and it already looks like the franchise’s best in close to a decade. Jones, Christian Barmore and Rhamondre Stevenson all are major contributors as rookies and look like building blocks for the future, and a couple of draftees who haven’t played yet (Ronnie Perkins, Cameron McGrone) have intriguing potential.

@Renzi820
If the Pats had dual post game interviews like the Bills did with Hyde and Poyer – who would you want to see go together?
Hmm, good question. Matthew Judon and Jamie Collins would be fun. I’d like to see ex-Alabama teammates Jones and Christian Barmore, too.

@_AndrewCallahan
What’s your beer of choice for the bye
My personal favorite is Left of the Dial from Notch. Might have to fire up a few of those this weekend.