Mac Jones Pick-Six Looks Even Worse In This Statistical Context

The Patriots’ first drive of the season was off to a promising start — before it ended in disaster.

Facing a third-and-5 from the Eagles 42-yard line, Mac Jones threw an interception to Philadelphia cornerback Darius Slay, who took it to the house. The play gave the Eagles a 9-0 first-quarter lead in Sunday’s home opener at Gillette Stadium.

Jones’ pass tipped off the hands of receiver Kendrick Bourne, but it was a poor throw. It’s possible the ball slipped out of Jones’ hands amid rainy conditions in Foxboro, Mass.

Take a look:

MAJOR SLAY@bigplay24slay | #PHIvsNE | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/7ySEudBDdH

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 10, 2023

Jones’ pick-six looks even uglier when put into recent statistical context.

Mike Reiss, via ESPN’s stats department, revealed the pick-six was the fourth of Jones’ young career. In fact, that’s tied for the second most pick-sixes among all quarterbacks since Jones entered the NFL in 2021.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford leads the field with six interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Of course, a quarterback isn’t always entirely to blame for a pick-six. Sometimes a receiver is at fault and/or offensive players display poor tackling on the return attempt.

However, in this case, Jones made a poor throw and delivered an even worse tackle attempt. Not a great start for a player under immense scrutiny and in need of a major Year 3 leap.