The 2022 NFL season hasn’t treated the New England Patriots and their quarterback Mac Jones well but he still has the support of his teammates.
Jones has struggled with injury and has struggled throughout his second season. So far, Jones has thrown for 1,386 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions per Pro Football Reference.
After an impressive rookie season where Jones threw for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns, Patriots fans have been disappointed. They were even chanting for Bailey Zappe when Jones was under center against the Chicago Bears.
Still, running back Damien Harris stated that the Patriots are lucky to have Jones as their quarterback and complimented his leadership abilities.
“I’ll let Mac speak on his process and how he handles what’s going on with his situation,” Harris said. “But what I can say is Mac is the ultimate leader. He’s an ultimate competitor and he’s an even better friend. I feel very fortunate to have shared the locker room with him twice now. And just watching him grow, watching him turn into a pro quarterback, it’s extra special to me just because that’s my best friend. But, you know, just watching his growth and seeing how he’s transitioned, and maturity, the competitiveness, the leadership that he’s gained throughout the years from when I met him when he was a freshman at Alabama, to him being in the second year as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
“So, I’m truly inspired by him, his story and watching him go out there and improve every single day. And, I’ll speak for myself, but I can say that our entire team feels very fortunate to have Mac as our quarterback.”
Has Damien Harris Struggled in 2022?
Along with Jones, Harris has also had his fair share of struggles. He has also dealt with injury issues and has lost his starting job to Rhamondre Stevenson.
Harris has only appeared in eight games so far this season and has tallied 367 yards and three touchdowns per Pro Football Reference.
Similar to Jones, this is quite disheartening after Harris had a career year running for 929 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Is Mac Jones Improving?
While Jones and the Patriots offense failed to reach the end zone, the quarterback was pleased with his performance against the New York Jets in Week 11.
“Yeah, I mean, we won the game,” he said. “I think obviously we moved the ball pretty well today, so that’s a fact. We’ve got to be able to move it through that fringe area better, and we’ve got to watch the tape and see what we can do better, but I thought we stayed together as a unit, didn’t lose our cool and worked together to try to win. Obviously Marcus’ [Jones] return was the icing right there on the cake, but that’s a good football team in a tough environment. They played really well, and got to give credit to them, and happy that we won, and that’s a great divisional win. It’s a good start there to this little run we’re going to make here. Got to just watch the film and see where we can get better.”
Jones continued talking about specific areas where he improved.
“Yeah, I think a little bit. Definitely improved on that,” Jones stated. “Talked about it. Any offense, timing, spacing, all that stuff, drop depth, everything. Definitely going to look at the film and see how it looks, but for the most part I felt like it was good, and like I said, tough conditions to play in, 20-, 25-mile-per-hour winds. So proud of the guys for catching the ball and doing all that stuff. The linemen did good. I think some of those sacks are coverage sacks, and it kind of is what it is. That’s football, right? You’re in long yardage, and they have good players on the defensive side of the football, and that team specifically with the defensive line. Did some good things. Definitely want to get through the fringe and score more touchdowns.”
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Patriots Star States Team Is ‘Very Fortunate’ to Have Mac Jones