Doug Pederson Takes Shot At Patriots Following Mac Jones’ Preseason Success
Jones finished off the preseason slate in style Friday night
The Jacksonville Jaguars saw a different Mac Jones in the preseason than the one the New England Patriots grew accustom to over the last couple of years.
Jones turned in another standout performance in Friday’s preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons and finished the exhibition slate completing 73.1% (38-of-52) of his passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions.
The secret to Jones’ preseason success?
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson believes its ridding Jones of the bad habits he picked up with New England, which sure sounded like a shot at the Patriots for the botched development of the 2021 first-round pick.
“Mac has played extremely well in the last couple of weeks and has really bought into what we do,” Pederson told reporters following Jacksonville’s 31-0 win over the Falcons, as transcribed by ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “He’ll still revert back to his Patriots ways every now and then, and we have to remind him he’s in Jacksonville. But he’s done a good job managing and running the offense, getting everybody involved. He sees the field well, throws a good ball, so he’s done a good job.”
The change of scenery and the pressure of not having to shoulder the weight of being the franchise quarterback — that title in Jacksonville belongs to Trevor Lawrence — probably have allowed Jones to play freer during his brief time so far with the Jaguars.
Jones, who was traded this offseason for a sixth-round pick, looked completely broken by the time his tenure came to an end with the Patriots. After a Pro Bowl season as a rookie and leading the Patriots to the playoffs that same season, Jones fell apart with Matt Patricia acting as the Patriots de facto offensive coordinator in 2022 and it didn’t get any better when Bill O’Brien took over those duties last season.
Jones endured a painful season last year in which he got benched for the final six games of the season. He lost 17 of his last 25 games with New England and threw for 8,918 yards with 46 touchdowns and 36 interceptions over three seasons.
The Patriots and Bill Belichick really didn’t put Jones in the best situation possible. Pederson made sure to point that out even though Jones isn’t free of blame for how things went with New England.
