EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Patriots saved their season with Sunday’s 22-17 win over the New York Jets. The campaign could’ve gone sideways had the results been different at MetLife Stadium.
But did Mac Jones do enough in the game to eliminate questions about his job security? Probably not.
Jones was shaky in his first full game action since Week 3, completing 24 of 35 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown to go along with an interception. He also could’ve thrown at least two more interceptions including a would’ve-been pick-six that got negated by a questionable roughing-the-passer penalty late in the first half. Still, Jones settled down in the second half and made some big throws in the winning effort.
His performance also is difficult to evaluate. Given Jones’ controversially limited playing time in last Monday’s loss to the Chicago Bears at Gillette Stadium, Sunday effectively functioned as his true work-off-the-rust game after missing a month due to an ankle injury. Also working against Jones was a formidable Jets front seven, which sacked the Patriots quarterback six times and pressured him throughout the Week 8 matchup.
Belichick after the game pointed out New York’s relentless pressure and did so again during a Monday morning Zoom call.
“I thought Mac did a nice job,” Belichick said. “We had pressure on quite a few pass plays — more than we would like, for sure — and I thought he made good decisions. He had to pull the ball down a couple (of times) and made some key runs for us. The Jets gave us some looks at the line of scrimmage that he had to deal with in the running game; I thought he handled those well. I thought he gave us a lot of good plays.”
Belichick’s comments definitely should be viewed as an endorsement of Jones. And the Patriots head coach is right to point out the role that pressure played in Jones’ spotty afternoon, as even Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady would look bad when under siege that often. Jones, whom we must remember still is just 24 years old, got sped up and showed iffy decision-making against an excellent defense. It happens.
Moreover, there’s virtually zero chance that Jones doesn’t start this Sunday when New England hosts the Indianapolis Colts. And he remains a more promising quarterback than rookie Bailey Zappe.
However, don’t assume that the Jones-Zappe controversy is over.
Belichick last week refused to publicly back Jones as the Patriots’ long-term starter. His approach to the situation runs in contrast to what he did in 2020 when Cam Newton repeatedly was affirmed as the starter despite his own struggles and the presence of Jarrett Stidham. Why? We’d argue it’s because Belichick views the gap between Jones and Zappe as much slimmer than the one that existed between Newton and Stidham — though that’s pure speculation.
And if that’s true, then Jones probably did little Sunday to change Belichick’s position.
For all intents and purposes, Jones threw a season-cratering pick-six during the final minute of the first half. Had the refs not called a soft penalty on John Franklin-Myers, the Patriots would’ve trailed 17-3 at the half with a comeback unlikely against one of the NFL’s top defenses. A loss would’ve left New England at 3-5 through eight weeks.
Ask yourself this: Given how quickly Belichick yanked Jones during the Bears game, how much longer do you think he would’ve rolled with him Sunday if he continued to struggle with New England’s season on the line?
Only Belichick knows the answer to that. But it’s not hard to envision a scenario in which Jones would’ve gotten benched for Zappe if he looked rattled on the first drive of the second half. For all we know, Jones had one drive left to prove himself.
To his credit, he led the Patriots to a touchdown and was solid for the rest of the half. A third wave of “Zappe Fever” was kept at bay.
But a huge performance from the Patriots defense, aided by another wretched outing from Zach Wilson, doesn’t change the reality of the situation.
The facts are this: Jones threw an interception in nine of his last 10 starts, including seven straight. During that timeframe, which began after last season’s bye week, Jones threw 14 interceptions compared to 11 touchdowns. He is Pro Football Focus’ 37th-ranked quarterback this season, one spot ahead of Baker Mayfield and one behind Wilson. Zappe is ranked 21st in a smaller sample size.
Yes, the context matters. Jones wasn’t the issue late last season; New England’s awful defense was. The offensive scheming and coaching overhaul during the offseason absolutely factored into Jones’ struggles during training camp and early in the regular season. Terrible offensive line play ruined any chance of Jones finding a rhythm in Sunday’s game against the Jets.
And the context matters for Zappe, too. His two impressive starts came against two of the NFL’s most dreadful defenses. The same people who conveniently ignored the opposing defenses in Zappe’s starts probably aren’t in a rush to point out what Jones was up against Sunday afternoon.
Nevertheless, the Patriots aren’t good enough to withstand a turnover machine at quarterback. Belichick won’t just sit by and watch his quarterback throw games away, regardless of where he was drafted.
The noise surrounding New England’s quarterback controversy was reduced Sunday afternoon in New York, but the volume could turn back up at any moment.
