Mac Jones has done everything asked of him and more during his rookie season.
The New England Patriots quarterback initially seemed poised to back up Cam Newton for at least the beginning of the season, and then after a surprising cut jumped right into action as the team's starter and clearly has proven why that was the correct decision.
Jones had a rookie season for the ages. He became just the 13th rookie quarterback in league history to lead his team to the postseason and in the process joined pretty impressive company. He threw for the fifth-most passing yards by a first-year quarterback with 3,801, set the Patriots passing touchdown record with 22 and recorded the second-highest pass percentage by a rookie QB at 67.6%.
If the Patriots were to take down the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night during the NFL's Super Wild Card Weekend action he would become just the seventh rookie QB to win his first postseason start. Jones would join an impressive list featuring Russell Wilson, T.J. Yates, Mark Sancez, Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger and Shaun King. John Wolford also was a rookie when the Los Angeles Rams earned a win during the 2020 postseason, but he was replaced in the second quarter by starting QB Jared Goff.
The Patriots already have beaten the Bills once this season and it's not out of the realm of possibility that they could do so again Saturday, but if they do they're going to need a big performance out of their rookie.
