Getty Mac Jones
Hours after the New England Patriots fell to 1-2 following a 28-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints, the hot takes are flowing like Niagara Falls. Rookie quarterback Mac Jones is hearing it from almost all sides in regards to his reluctance to throw the ball down the field.
Former Patriots offensive lineman and current FOX sports analyst Rich Ohrnberger facetiously suggests Jones is allergic to downfield throws. Ohrnberger savagely comes comes for Jones in this tweet:
Mac Jones Threw the Ball 51 Times on Sunday
While Jones didn’t take a ton of downfield shots on Sunday, he did still have 51 pass attempts and not all of them were of the dink-and-dunk variety.
Jones completed 30 of his attempts for a TD and 3 interceptions. To put Jones’ pass attempts into the proper perspective, Micah Adams of the Sporting News offered this bit of context:
Remember when the Pats were rolling out a rookie QB and would lean heavily on defense and a ground game?
Mac Jones has attempted 120 passes.
Only 4 rookie QBs in NFL history have attempted more passes to open a season in Weeks 1-3.
With 120 passes attempted through the first three weeks of the NFL season, Jones isn’t just slinging it a lot for a rookie quarterback. Jones’ 120 passing attempts will likely put him in the Top 10 in the NFL this season once the Monday Night Football game is in the books.
Jones Isn’t Ever Going to Be the Biggest Downfield Passer
Coming out of college there were some concerns about Jones’ arm strength. They were a little overblown as it would appear he could make all of the throws most teams ask their quarterbacks to make on a regular basis. Will there be some inaccurate balls?
Of course, that’s the case with every passer in the league. That said, Jones is at his best when he is diagnosing things before the snap and making the easier throw that he has been able to sniff out before the snap.
As a rookie, he’s still learning how to create these situations with more regularity. The occasional deep shot will become a bigger part of his bag in the coming years, but for now most would rather he be allergic to downfield throws than to be addicted to turnovers.
What’s Next For the Patriots?
Here is a look at the rest of the Patriots’ regular season schedule beginning with the big one next week against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England Patriots (1-2) 2021 Regular Season Schedule
- Week 1 – Miami Dolphins 17, New England Patriots 16
- Week 2 – New England Patriots 25, New York Jets 6
- Week 3 – New Orleans Saints 28, New England Patriots 13
- Week 4 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 8:20 pm ET – NBC – October 3
- Week 5 – at Houston Texans at 1pm ET – CBS – October 10
- Week 6 – Dallas Cowboys at 4:25 pm ET – CBS – October 17
- Week 7 – New York Jets at 1pm ET – CBS – October 24
- Week 8 – at Los Angeles Chargers at 4:05 pm ET – CBS – October 31
- Week 9 – at Carolina Panthers at 1 pm ET – CBS – November 7
- Week 10 – Cleveland Browns at 1 pm ET – CBS – November 14
- Week 11 – at Atlanta Falcons at 8:20 pm ET – FOX/NFL Network/Amazon – November 18
- Week 12 – Tennessee Titans at 1 pm ET – CBS – November 28
- Week 13 – at Buffalo Bills at 8:15 pm ET – ESPN – December 6
- Week 14 – Bye Week
- Week 15 – at Indianapolis Colts Time TBA – December 18
- Week 16 – Jacksonville Jaguars at 1 pm ET – CBS – January 2
- Week 17 – at Miami Dolphins at 1 pm ET – CBS – January 9