Patriots' Mac Jones reacts to vote of confidence ahead of Raiders game

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones made it known Wednesday he appreciates that head coach Bill Belichick still believes in the 25-year-old heading into Sunday's game at the 2-3 Las Vegas Raiders.

"There are a lot of things I really need to improve as a quarterback, so that's what I think of: What can I do better?" Jones said while speaking with reporters, per Mike Reiss of ESPN. "You want it to be really good on game days, and that's where I've been disappointed with myself. Why hasn't it? That's something I've focused on."

Belichick pulled Jones in favor of backup Bailey Zappe during New England's 38-3 loss at the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 1 and this past Sunday's 34-0 defeat against the New Orleans Saints that dropped the Patriots to 1-4. The coach nevertheless confirmed Wednesday that Jones will start versus the Raiders after Henry McKenna of Fox Sports reported over the weekend that "a source close to" the quarterback said that "no matter how good of [a] cook you are, you cannot make garbage taste good." 

Jones later insisted he disagreed with the opinion revealed by McKenna.

According to ESPN stats, Jones enters Week 6 of the season ranked 26th in the NFL among qualified players with a 40.2 adjusted QBR and 31st with a 74.2 passer rating. While he thus far has matched five touchdown passes with six interceptions, he tossed zero touchdowns and four picks across his past two outings. 

"...We have to flip the switch and start over and figure out ways to go out there and have fun and sling the ball around -- guys go make plays and then celebrate with each other, too," Jones added while speaking about an offense that's ranked dead last in scoring with an average of 11.0 points per game. "One of the best things I do is my ability to communicate. Somebody told me that in the locker room and I took it to heart; I need to do a better job of that. I haven't done that here the past couple years."

As of Wednesday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Patriots as three-point underdogs for Sunday's game at Allegiant Stadium.