Getty New England Patriots, Mac Jones
Mac Jones doesn’t handle losing well. He never has, and that may never change. On the sidelines during the New England Patriots’ 24-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night, Jones unleashed a profane tirade seemingly targeting Patriots play-caller Matt Patricia.
In short, it appears as though Jones wanted Patricia to call more pass plays, but the second-year quarterback used far more colorful language. Boston Sports Gordo captured the moment and did a pretty bang-up job reading lips. Instead of “running game,” Jones actually said, “quick game,” according to him. Still, not a bad translation.
“Throw the fucking ball, the fucking running game sucks! Fuck!” – Mac Jones
The Patriots struggled offensively all night. They only converted three of 12 third-down attempts and didn’t eclipse 300 yards of total offense. That said, the running game wasn’t quite as bad as Jones made it seem.
New England only ran the ball 14 times, and they gained 60 yards on those attempts. Second-year running back Rhamondre Stevenson led the way with ten attempts for 54 yards. Stevenson averaged 5.4 yards per carry, while the team averaged a respectable 4.3 per rushing attempt.
Conversely, Jones completed just 22 of 36 pass attempts for 195 yards and a TD. The lone scoring pass came on a screen to cornerback-turned-slot-WR Marcus Jones.
The rookie playmaker used his impressive jets to scamper for a 48-yard TD. Many of Jones’ incompletions came late in the fourth quarter when the Patriots were forced to pass the ball to overcome the deficit.
Still, while not explosive, the Patriots’ run game didn’t appear to be as fruitless as it was portrayed. This was Jones talking about the video of him that went viral:
Mac Jones responds to the video of him from the broadcast that has gone viral. #Patriots
Jones said his tirade wasn’t directed at anyone, but it stands to reason he had to be speaking to someone who was in charge of calling plays, and that’s Patricia.
Twitter Reacts to Mac Jones’ Tirade
Jones’ sideline tantrum seemed to draw as much reaction on Twitter as the game’s final score. Allan Bell of CBS Sports admits he’s not a huge fan of Jones, but he sympathizes with him considering there is a coach who seemingly isn’t qualified to be an offensive coordinator in that position.
Not the biggest Mac Jones supporter out there but I feel like he deserves more than a defensive coordinator leading the offense.
Penn Live’s Brian Linder suggests Jones is headed toward being a member of the QB-hungry Carolina Panthers in his reaction tweet:
FanSided’s Bobby Thompson says he believes Patricia has regressed Jones’ career in this season as the quarterback’s play-caller.
Mac Jones is frustrated with the offense, play-calling and execution. It’s written all over his face. Everyone is at blame. But Matt Patricia I think has done his best job to regress Jones.
Jason Smith of Fox Sports Radio implies Jones isn’t the guy the Patriots need at quarterback. He has two wild suggestions for replacements for Jones in New England.
It’s not that tonight was all Mac Jones’ fault – but this should be the moment where the Patriots know they need to go big for a QB in the off-season, b/c they can’t win like this – they’re too limited. (How about Lamar Jackson or Kyler Murray?)
It’s hard to imagine the Patriots paying Lamar Jackson the kind of money he will command on the open market, and it’s also tough to fathom New England even wanting a player like Kyler Murray.
On the Outside Looking In
The Patriots wouldn’t have a spot if the playoffs started on Friday. The loss to the Bills dropped them to 6-6. For the rest of the season, the Patriots have the Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins, and a rematch with the Bills.
New England could and should win the next two contests, and they have a realistic shot at beating the Bengals. Even if they won all three of those games and finished 9-8, they could still miss the postseason. To really feel good about their postseason hopes, the Patriots probably need to finish the season with a 4-1 run.
Right now, that doesn’t seem likely.