How Mac Jones Reportedly ‘Infuriated’ Patriots This Season

Some with the Patriots organization reportedly are becoming fed up with Mac Jones’ frequent decision-making lapses.

Jones has thrown nine interceptions and lost two fumbles this season, and his troubling tendency to throw off his back foot has caused him to miss open receivers. But Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer pointed out another aspect of the quarterback’s game that reportedly has angered folks inside Gillette Stadium.

“One thing that’s really infuriated people there — people in the building — is the decision-making,” Breer said Tuesday on NBC Sports Boston. “They’d been sold the smart, efficient, game-managing quarterback, and they’re not getting it. The decision-making hasn’t been good. They see him passing up open receivers. They see things, quite frankly, that you wouldn’t see from a quarterback who has those sorts of qualities. So it’s not just the physical limitations now.

“It’s also that it doesn’t feel like he’s really taken the coaching, and that creates a much bigger problem. Because if this is who Mac Jones is — and we’ve seen some of the defiance bubble over in the press conferences — if he’s not running the offense as it’s prescribed, well then what do you have? Because it’s not like he can put the cape on and be Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. If you don’t have that one part of it, then what do you have?”

Breer pointed to a specific example during Sunday’s loss to the Washington Commanders of Jones audibling into a play intended for Mike Gesicki, then opting not to throw to the tight end despite Gesicki being open down the seam. Jones tucked the ball and scrambled for 3 yards.

Jones was not solely to blame for the Patriots’ offensive issues in their latest loss. New England’s O-line held up reasonably well against a Washington team that had just traded away its two best pass rushers, but Jones’ receivers struggled to get open against man coverage and had two costly drops, including one by JuJu Smith-Schuster that resulted in a game-sealing interception.

Still, the third-year QB hasn’t come close to proving he’s New England’s long-term answer at the position. As Breer noted, a quarterback with Jones’ lack of elite physical traits needs to win by playing smart football and making good decisions, and he’s spent much of this season doing the opposite.

New England clearly does not feel confident in its backup options, but it could eventually give Bailey Zappe or Will Grier a shot if the season continues to spiral.

The 2-7 Patriots will travel to Europe this week to face the 4-5 Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in Frankfurt, Germany.