How Mac Jones Can Revive Patriots Passing Progressions Against Bills

FOXBORO, Mass. — Mac Jones and the New England Patriots have to find a way to revitalize the passing attack.

The third-year quarterback has not thrown for a touchdown since Week 3 after tossing four in his first two games. As a unit, the passing progressions of the offense continue to search for diversity and efficiency while preparing for each defense, this week in the Buffalo Bills.

“Each game is different,” Jones told reporters in Foxboro on Wednesday. “You have a plan and you’re going to stick with it. Sometimes, they do something and change it a little bit.”

Specifically, the Patriots quarterback described the levels of the passing game that the offense looks to categorize.

“That’s a part of every offense, I put it in the short, quick game category,” Jones said. “Then, there’s medium passes and play-action. Then, maybe deep passes which can come from play-action or deep drop backs. There’s different categories. That’s a bucket we want to continue to grow in. It’s the other types of play like play-action, too.”

Inside of that description, Jones discussed what could be an answer to improvements against Buffalo entering Sunday.

While the 2022 season offered major regression from his success as a rookie, Jones turned in an intriguing performance in the season finale in Buffalo.

The New England quarterback threw for three touchdowns in a 35-23 loss to the Bills. With a toss to Jakobi Meyers and a pair of throws to DeVante Parker, the Patriots seemed to find a rhythm. While falling in defeat, the Patriots opened up the playbook and gave Jones a chance to make plays off of an increased presence of play-action in the game plan. Jones finished the day 26-of-40 for 243 yards with three touchdowns. On New England’s three touchdown drives in that contest, Jones was a perfect 18-for-18 through the air in a stunning turn of events for the struggling offense.

The Patriots did lose the game to miss the playoffs and Jones threw three interceptions, while one was in garbage time in the final minutes of the contest. The performance as a whole was a mixed bag, but Jones did show that answers were in the offensive scheme.

While that game feels like forever ago amid more struggles for the offense, Jones and the Patriots could uncover more answers with a similar scheme when they host the Bills at Gillette Stadium in Week 7 on Sunday.