Getty Mac Jones, Patriots quarterback
Well, that did not take long.
We are 36 games into the NFL career of quarterback Patriots Mac Jones and already, he’s thrown his team under the bus. Granted, maybe under a bus is where this group belongs. And granted, it was a “source close to” Jones who did the throwing, but those are details. The fact is, the Patriots’ implosion has entered the finger-pointing stage, and Jones is keen on having as few fingers pointed his way as possible.
In a story on Fox Sports from writer Henry McKenna, a source close to Jones said after Sunday’s debilitating 34-0 loss to New Orleans, “No matter how good of (a) cook you are, you cannot make garbage taste good. Even if it was not Mac at QB, what QB would want to play here under these conditions?”
Yikes. There is some truth in just how unsightly the Patriots offense is and in how coach Bill Belichick has mismanaged the team’s roster on the offensive side of the ball. But it is not a good look for someone close to the team’s QB to be referring to teammates as, “garbage.”
Mac Jones May Have an Eye on the Exit
It will behoove Jones and those around him to do what they can to distance him from responsibility for the Patriots’ current situation, if he hopes to wrangle any kind of future career as an NFL passer out of this mess. He was a Pro Bowler as a rookie, after all, when the team went 10-7 and he threw for 3,801 yards with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Through five games now, he has thrown a league-high six interceptions and five touchdowns, with two big fumbles in that mix. The Patriots have scored 55 points this season, last in the NFL, and have scored a total of three points in their last two games.
They’re lacking at receiver. They’re lacking along the offensive line. The running backs have underperformed. But they’re also without a sure bet at quarterback.
And it should come as no surprise that Jones is looking to save his own skin and blaming others. Last season, dealing with the mess at offensive coordinator, Jones was seen more than once yelling at his coaches in frustration, which drew consternation from past Patriots.
“I’m tired of it. You’re the leader of this team, you’re the quarterback. So, you can’t be frustrated every single week, every single play,” said two-time champ Vince Wilfork. “I don’t care if you’re getting the play called in late or whatever it may be. At the end of the day, you have to show some poise because when you operate the ship, you’re the head of the ship when you’re out there.”
‘I Don’t Believe That Mac Jones Is the Guy’
Jones himself mostly has accepted responsibility for how things have gone for the Patriots offense this year. After Sunday’s game, he said, “Like I said earlier, just trying to do better as an offense. You know, we didn’t score any points,” he said. “So that’s the important part, is scoring points and executing your job. And I try to just execute my job.”
But that job probably should not be Jones’ for long, no matter how those around him blame others.
Fox Sports’ Howie Long declared last week, even before the Saints abomination, that Jones was not the kind of quarterback who could carry an NFL team.
“Listen,” Long said, “they’re struggling. Today was really a—I think, at quarterback, I don’t believe that Mac Jones is the guy. And I think we can kind of agree on that. I think they’re probably coming to that conclusion in New England.”