Getty Mac Jones wasn't showered with praise by Bill Belichick, despite leading a game-winning drive vs. the Buffalo Bills in Week 7.
Bill Belichick wouldn’t single out Mac Jones for praise, even after the New England Patriots’ quarterback led a game-winning drive to beat the Buffalo Bills in Week 7.
Jones threw a touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki to lift the Patriots to an unlikely 29-25 win over their AFC East rivals. The play capped arguably the finest quarter of football Jones has played since entering the NFL in 2021, but Belichick wasn’t about to give his under-pressure signal-caller too many props.
When asked by reporters if Jones’ heroics create more confidence in the QB1, Belichick responded, “I don’t know,” per MassLive.com’s Mark Daniels. When pressed if he specifically now has more belief in Jones, the head coach simply said, “I have confidence in all our players.”
Does that final drive give people more confidence in Mac Jones?
Belichick: “I don’t know.”
Does it give you more confidence in him?
Belichick: “I have confidence in all our players.”
While that’s a reasonable, albeit boilerplate response from a coach, Belichick wasted a chance to make a public show of faith in Jones. Such an endorsement would have been timely given the passer’s struggles this season and rumors the relationship between coach and player is “broken.”
Mac Jones Earned More Props from Bill Belichick
Jones didn’t get the props from Belichick, but he did everything he could to earn them. Everything including going 11 of 13 and posting a “147.0 passer rating” in the fourth period, per The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin.
Mac Jones fourth quarter: 11 of 13, 127 yards, 2 TDs, 147.0 passer rating.
Those numbers allowed Jones to finally earn a “first career win when the opponent scores at least 25 points,” per Volin. Jones clearing one career hurdle was timely given how he’d been struggling this season.
No. 10 was supposed to take a significant step forward in a more expansive offense called by coordinator Bill O’Brien. Jones was also given an improved supporting cast, with Gesicki among the new recruits.
Gesicki and Kendrick Bourne snagged both of Jones’ touchdown passes, but Belichick had no problem singling out O’Brien for some praise. The play-caller was credited with doing “a good job all week with the game plan,” per NBCS Boston’s Phil Perry.
O’Brien was due some plaudits, but this felt like a missed opportunity for Belichick to present a much-needed united front with his quarterback.
Bill Belichick and Mac Jones Questions Remain, Despite Win
There has been more than a little chatter about Belichick’s apparently frayed relationship with Jones. Former Hesiman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III accused Belichick of “permanently” hurting Jones through poor scheme design and staffing decisions, on an episode of ESPN’s Get Up.
“[Bill Belichick’s] arguably the greatest coach of all time in NFL history. But he really overthought this, and it’s hurt Mac Jones permanently in my opinion.”
Griffin’s ire stems from Belichick’s still highly dubious decision to let former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and special teams coach Joe Judge call the offense in 2022.
RGIII isn’t the only analyst who senses all is far from right between Belichick and Jones. There’s also Greg A. Bedard of The Boston Sports Journal, who told the “Felger & Mazz” show for 98.5 The Sports Hub, “I think the Belichick Mac Jones marriage is broken. And that’s tough. I mean for the franchise quarterback not to think that the head coach is in his corner….”
Those are strong words, strong enough that even a Jones-led comeback to beat Buffalo won’t refute the idea Belichick would rather move on at football’s most important position. It’s a lingering sentiment the 71-year-old could have dismissed out of hand.
That dismissal coming after NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirmed earlier on Sunday, October 22, Belichick “quietly agreed to a lucrative multi-year new contract,” would have provided a double endorsement the Patriots are in lockstep and believe fully in what they’re doing.
From @NFLGameDay: This past offseason, #Patriots coach Bill Belichick quietly agreed to a lucrative multi-year new contract, sources say. That, at least, adds some context to the discussions about the greatest coach in NFL history.
Instead, a typically Belichickean, non-committal response is only likely to fuel belief among some the Patriots won’t be completely right again until one of coach or quarterback is no longer in town.