FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots and starting quarterback Mac Jones return to action on Sunday at Gillette Stadium following their bye week, and new details have surfaced regarding how the second-year pro spent his time off.
Utilizing the available time with the Patriots following their cakewalk Week 9 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Jones reportedly focused on a few specific areas of improvement.
“Mac Jones, the Patriots quarterback spent his bye week doing a quote ‘full audit on himself,'” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said Sunday morning. “He offered no details on what he spent his time doing, but I was able to scrounge up a couple of things as far as where Mac Jones took his focus. My understanding of what he did: He studied himself on tape, specifically the timing of his drops.”
Jones has endured a rough follow-up to his impressive rookie campaign. The 24-year-old has struggled on the field and dealt with injuries, missing three consecutive contests and while watching rookie Bailey Zappe excel in his absence.
Through six games played, Jones has notched 111 completions off 168 attempts, racking up 1,140 yards with just four touchdowns and seven interceptions. In his previous three matchups against the New York Jets, Jones tossed three touchdowns and one interception, averaging a 69.3 completion and 229 yards per matchup.
“Too often, he would get to the top of his drop … he would look out, and the receivers have not made their breaks,” Rapoport said. “Basically, he was dropping back too quickly. So, he’d watch the film, pause, say, ‘Where are the receivers? Where are my eyes?'” — trying to sink up his drops with the receivers.”
Rapoport added: “It is worth noting that Mac Jones’ ankle does feel 100%.”
The Patriots return to action against the Jets on Sunday with kickoff in Foxboro, Mass., scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
