Mac faces big test in Chargers
Beating strong pass defense next step in rookie QB’s development
FOXBORO » If Mac Jones thrives against the Chargers defense on Sunday, go back to his first practices as a Patriot.
There, he first began unpeeling the layers of complexity built into Bill Belichick’s defense. He developed from a Checkdown Charlie to a more daring, downfield thrower. Everything slowed, and simplified.
“At first, you’re kind of like, wow, this is pretty complex, and then, you get to go against them for a few months and fall camp and just throughout the summer. … and it’s good practice,” Jones said this week.
In Los Angeles, head coach Brandon Staley runs a different but still highly multiple system predicated on frequent two-deep safety looks, which allows the Chargers to disguise a variety of coverages. That alignment also invites teams to run, before they slingshot a safety down to stop running backs who are often spilled to the outside by aggressive defensive linemen. Bill Belichick noted this week the Chargers are among the few teams to employ a fiveman defensive line.
The Patriots will do the same when they see fit.
The Chargers have seen little success stopping the run, but their pass-first approach has yielded an interception per game and a defense that ranks 12th in Football Outsiders’ opponent-and-situation-adjusted efficiency metric, DVOA. Against the pass alone, Los Angeles ranks fifth. The two teams Jones has defeated this season — the Jets twice and the Texans — both fielded belowaverage defenses, especially against the pass.
Beating Los Angeles on the road would mark a major milestone for Jones. The Chargers are not only a better defensive team than New York or Houston, but they run a more complicated system that will force the rookie to sift through disguises he hasn’t seen since the worst performance of his career: the Pats’ Week 3 loss to New Orleans.
“I think there’s a lot of stuff that there’s crossover, but this defense that we’re about to play is very multiple,” Jones said. “They do a great job with disguise, and they have great players and a great coaching staff, a really smart coach and smart players, so they know what they want to do on each play, and we just have to try to focus on us and do our best.”
Like anyone who’s watched him play the past three weeks, Jones sees signs of progress. The redzone quicksand the Patriots sank into after crossing the 20-yard line in their first few games is gone.
They were virtually unstoppable the past two weeks against the Jets and Cowboys.
“We’ve addressed the issues that we had, and we still have to work on stuff. Red zone is always important,” Jones said. “Third down, and being good on first and second down, so we always want to take care of the ball and just stick to our principles of the offense and kind of what our M.O. is.”
As for establishing an identity, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels indicated two weeks ago the team is getting closer. The Pats would ideally be a strong running team, based on their roster construction; one Jones could complement in critical situations and elevate against elite run defenses. Last week, Damien Harris notched the first back-toback 100-yard performances of his career.
Harris should be featured heavily against the Chargers’ leaky front. Los Angeles also ranks among the worst teams in the NFL at defending personnel groupings with multiple backs and/or tight ends. The Patriots run those at a higher rate than most of the NFL, a good sign for their chances as an underdog.
But ultimately, as is the case most Sundays, the game could come down to the quarterback. The respect between Jones and Staley sounds mutual, based on comments the precocious head coach made earlier this week.
“I see a guy that’s an outstanding decision-maker,” Staley told local reporters. “I think his processing is at a premium for a young quarterback. You can really see that he can see the game. I know the way they play on offense, they ask a lot of that position. You can tell that he can process at a high level because of the type of plays they’re running.”
McDaniels, the other coach who will determine how Jones fares Sunday, sees the Patriots playing a careful game. He’ll need to strike a careful balance between attacking the Chargers where they’re weakest, and allowing his rising rookie to make plays in critical situations; the type of winning plays that will vault him from the quarterback he’s been to the quarterback he wants to be.
“There’s definitely going to be an element of discipline required for us to be consistently moving the ball forward,” McDaniels said. “That will be a big challenge for us as we get ready to go.”