Mac Jones entered the NFL with a reputation for being a cerebral quarterback who does a great job of minimizing mistakes. And he lived up to it during his first 13 games with the Patriots.
But it's been a totally different story since last season's bye week.
Jones threw 16 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions before New England went on a BYE in Week 14 of his rookie season. However, beginning with the Week 15 road game against the Indianapolis Colts, Jones threw 14 interceptions compared to 11 touchdowns in his last nine starts, including the playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. Overall, Jones threw picks in nine of his last 10 games, including seven straight. The sophomore quarterback threw one pick in last Sunday's road win over the New York Jets, though he was fortunate not to be charged with more.
The rough stretch deserves a ton of context, most notably the poor performance of the Patriots offensive line. The receivers around Jones also have been prone to mental mistakes, with Jakobi Meyers perhaps deserving most of the blame for the would've-been pick-six at MetLife Stadium.
"It's never one player, never one thing," New England quarterbacks coach Joe Judge said Tuesday during a Zoom call. "We've got to improve in that area. That's no secret."
Judge also commended Jones for the things he did against the Jets that might not be apparent unless you closely watch coaches film.
"He really did some good things for the team the other day that won't show up on the stat sheet," Judge said. "That won't show up if you're (not) just watching tape and saying, 'Hey, that's really a big-time play by Mac of really understanding what the entirety of the game is.' Or understand the flow of the game. Where are we score-wise relative to the Jets, who (have) a very good defense? How is our defense playing at the time? What are the chances we can take? What are the calculated shots we're gonna make as an offense? And how do we have to play within the team flow of the game to make sure you keep everybody on track? And I think Mac did a lot of really really good things (Sunday) to help the team win. And, again, it's not always the stuff that you see on the ESPN highlight reels. ...
"Mac does a very good job of staying engaged. And the way he comes to work every day, you know, he's (improving) on a daily basis."
Jones certainly has played better than the numbers indicate, and he deserves a ton of credit for leading the Patriots to a season-saving win over the Jets despite facing a relentless pass rush all afternoon. But the reality is that Jones must stop turning the ball over at a high clip. He'll look for better results this Sunday when the Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts.
