What Mac Jones has to do to remain with the Patriots in 2023 and beyond
Sunday, Patriots (2-5) QB Mac Jones led his team to an improbable upset win against the Buffalo Bills (4-3). In the win, Jones tossed for 272 yards and two touchdowns while completing more than 80% of his passes.
Excellence from Jones has been far from the common theme in 2023, however. Entering the game against Buffalo, Jones had thrown five touchdowns to seven interceptions and was a main reason for the team's 1-5 start.
Following New England's 21-17 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders (3-4), one week before the game against the Bills, many were calling for Jones to be benched or traded. Jones' most recent performance has temporarily halted fan outrage, but he still has a lot more to overcome if he wants to earn respect back from the Patriots.
In his rookie year, Jones was a star filled with promising potential, throwing for 22 touchdowns to 13 interceptions.
Once then-OC Josh McDaniels left to be the head coach for the Raiders, however, things began to go downhill for the 25-year-old. In his second year, with Matt Patricia controversially calling plays for the offense, Jones threw for a dreadful 14 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, and the team finished at 8-9. The Patriots promptly fired Patricia and hired respected and experienced Bill O'Brien as OC, but Jones has continued to struggle.
One of the main things the Patriots want to see is the old Jones. In 2021, he was a fun player to watch, and it was exciting to see him take the field and make plays. Now, it is quite the opposite.
Jones also needs to bring more consistency to the position. He displayed plenty of consistency in his rookie season. Since then, Jones has struggled to string consecutive positive performances together, which has proved to be the reason for many of New England's losses in 2022 and 2023.
There has been noticeable improvement from Jones' end in terms of physical ability, but it has failed to translate into much. If Jones uses his increased arm strength and ball speed by taking more shots downfield, he can immensely improve his overall quarterback play. Jones is playing too conservatively and not throwing enough deep balls. The Patriots know from their Tom Brady days that is not a winning formula.
It is possible that Jones' reluctance to throw deep balls is a result of his mediocre offensive line and lack of offensive weapons, but at some point, he has to work with what he has and trust his teammates to make the right play. After all, time is running out for Jones, and he won't have many more opportunities to prove his worth.
There are plethora of things Jones has to change in order to become New England's guy again. There are only 10 games left on the Patriots schedule, so he better get to work.
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