FOXBORO, Mass. -- The New England Patriots' offense has scuffled since Mac Jones' return from his high ankle sprain. But the quarterback has noticed some positive strides from that unit.
Speaking with reporters before Patriots players dispersed for their bye week, Jones said the Patriots' offensive communication -- a glaring issue during training camp and the preseason -- has "definitely improved."
"Each week, you want to access what you can do better, whether that's your footwork, your accuracy, your placement for receivers catching and running," Jones said after Wednesday's practice. "Those are all things that I feel like we've gotten better at as the year went on. It's all about communication. We've definitely improved in that part of it, the communication, which is the most important piece. Once you do that, then you get the consistency, then you get the product that we want to put out on the field. Definitely working through that, and the more we talk together, the more that we all see it as the same, then the better off we'll be."
That consistency, however, still has eluded Jones and his teammates.
Over the QB's first two full games post-injury, the Patriots ran 25 offensive possessions and scored touchdowns on just two of them. Jones was sacked 10 times behind an offensive line that was missing injured center David Andrews and has yet to find a viable solution at right tackle. The Patriots averaged 3.8 yards per play against the New York Jets and 3.3 against the Indianapolis Colts, their two lowest single-game marks over the last two seasons.
New England won both of those games thanks to strong showings on defense and special teams, but its offense will need to improve if it hopes to reach the playoffs and have any chance of advancing. Jones also has regressed this season, ranking in the bottom three among qualified QBs in passer rating, QBR, interception rate and Pro Football Focus grade through nine weeks.
"I think every offense and every team is still going to be a work in progress," Jones said. "At any level, you're constantly trying to get better, right? Unless you're winning the championship, you're not satisfied. So everybody's working. We're all trying to just focus on today and get better, get better as a team. Obviously as an offense, we want to score more points, no more turnovers and all that. We can control those things. And if we can control it, then we need to take control of it."
The Patriots will use the bye to get healthy -- Andrews returned to practice Wednesday and should give their struggling O-line a sizable boost -- and self-scout before returning to action next Sunday against the Jets.
