Bill Belichick Makes Minor Flub Highlighting Patriots One-Hit Wonder

Jordan Mason broke out on “Monday Nigth Football,” and the performance reminded former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick of another unknown breakout.

Unless you were deep in the fantasy football streets, you probably had no idea who Mason was. But the third-year running back filled in for Christian McCaffrey and rushed for 147 yards off 28 carries and scored one touchdown.

Ryan Clark highlighted Mason as his “Football Guy” of the week on “Inside the NFL” stressing his tough play and his journey as an undrafted free agent. It was a pick and performance that impressed Belichick.

“Jordan Mason, what a guy,” Belichick said on “Inside the NFL.” “This reminds me of Jonah Gray when he ran for 220 yards for me and was an inactive the next week. But this guy, great performance.”

Wait, “Jonah Gray?” Belichick likely was referring to Jonas Gray, who rushed for 201 yards on 37 carries and scoured a franchise record four rushing touchdowns in just his fourth NFL game. Gray was the first NFL running back since 1921 to score four rushing touchdowns in a game after entering the game with zero career touchdowns.

It seemed like Gray was going to be the bellcow back for the Patriots in the 2014 season. But as Belichick mentioned, the undrafted free agent was benched the next game due to a team infraction where he was late for a practice after the Indianapolis Colts game. It would be a moment Gray would regret, and the Notre Dame product would not feature for New England for the rest of the season which ended with the Patriots winning Super Bowl XLIX. The running back did rush for 62 yards and a touchdown in a matchup against the Miami Dolphins in Week 14.

Gray was cut the following season and injuries cut his career short, but Patriots fans will always remember that Week 4 game against the Colts in the 2014 season.

Belichick seemed to have forgotten Gray’s first name this week on “Inside the NFL,” and for Mason, he’ll hope his slip of the tongue in his postgame news conference doesn’t lead to the same fate as Gray.