Patriots OC defends Mac Jones after benching vs. Cowboys

One day after New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick defended Mac Jones on multiple occasions, Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien also backed the quarterback who had an outing to forget during Sunday's 38-3 loss at the Dallas Cowboys. 

"Some of the decisions that he made were very uncharacteristic of Mac," O'Brien said during a Tuesday news conference, per Mike Reiss of ESPN. "He's just trying to make a play, he's wanting to win, he's very competitive. I think you'll see a lot of improvement in Mac as we keep moving forward here."

Jones lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, threw an awful interception that became a pick-six and was intercepted a second time at AT&T Stadium before Belichick replaced the 25-year-old with backup Bailey Zappe. 

Belichick told reporters shortly after Sunday's game that Jones will start when the 1-3 Patriots host the 2-2 New Orleans Saints this Sunday, and there's no indication the coach has changed his mind about that decision. 

"Mac is a battler," O'Brien explained. "He is a competitor. When you play quarterback in this league, you have to limit the mistakes and you have to limit the bad games you have, obviously." 

The Patriots hired O'Brien this past offseason in part to give Jones a "fresh start" after he struggled during the 2022 campaign while playing under assistant coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. 

According to ESPN stats, Jones begins Week 5 of the season ranked 25th in the NFL among qualified signal-callers with a 44.7 adjusted QBR and an 80.8 passer rating. He's tied for 27th with 6.2 yards per pass attempt and recorded five touchdown passes with four interceptions across his first four starts of the campaign. 

Jones acknowledged during an appearance on Boston sports radio station WEEI that he must perform "better" in practices and games. O'Brien sounded impressed with how his QB1 is handling a rough stretch of play. 

"We have to do a better job of coaching up some things with him," O'Brien added about Jones. "He has to do a better job of making good decisions for us. He knows that. He takes a lot of ownership — you saw that, I think, after the game. He blames himself." 

The Patriots need to know what Jones is and/or isn't before they must either pick up or decline the fifth-year option attached to his rookie contract next spring. 

If Belichick turns to Zappe against New Orleans, trade rumors similar to those that hovered over Jones throughout this past offseason could resurface before Halloween.