Jones endures rough day at office
Throws 3 picks in loss to Saints
FOXBORO — Mac Jones easily had his worst day as a pro.
Between the turnovers, and the pounding he endured with little to no protection against the Saints pass-rushers, the Patriots rookie quarterback would probably love to erase what transpired at Gillette Stadium during the 28-13 loss. The good news? Jones, who completed 30 of 51 passes, with one touchdown and three interceptions, kept fighting, and actually got the Patriots within a touchdown and two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
At one point after scrambling up the middle for a 12yard-gain before sliding out of harm’s way on a fourthquarter run, Jones popped up and ditched the knee brace that’s been supporting his left knee.
After it came loose on the play, he just whipped it aside and threw a touchdown on the very next play.
It was one of the bright spots in an otherwise disappointing performance by Jones and the offense.
“He still was relaxed and didn’t look rattled in the huddle and when he took off his brace, it just showed how tough he is,” said Kendrick Bourne, who hauled in the 22-yard TD pass and made a nice play to get into the end zone. “You can tell he is just here to make plays and the brace can’t stop him and he has the ‘nobody can stop me but me’ mentality and that is what you want to see out of your quarterback. But it just didn’t go our way today and that is just kind of the game.”
The Patriots offense got off to a rough start, with three three-and-outs before finally getting a first down on its fourth possession.
But that first down proved costly with the Patriots losing James White, who was carted off with a hip injury.
That took away Jones’ security blanket on third down, and his best blitzpickup protector from the running back group.
Then the turnovers started.
On the first pick, Jones was harassed in the pocket, stepped up, and delivered a dying quail, which landed in P.J. Williams’ lap. That set up a Saints score in the second quarter.
The second one came at the start of the third quarter. Right out of the locker room, on his first pass. That went off Jonnu Smith’s hands, right into the hands of Malcolm Jenkins, who took the ball back 34 yards for a score.
The final one came during desperation time, with Marshon Lattimore picking off a deep ball intended for Nelson Agholor with 15 seconds to play.
The support of his teammates meant a lot to Jones, who eventually walked off the field alongside Bill Belichick.
“I think interceptions are a part of the game. You obviously don’t want to throw them, and sometimes they’re bang-bang plays and sometimes they’re things you can control,” Jones said. “I just have to learn from those errors.
“Everyone did have my back. It seemed they were very supportive,” he said. “For me, I’ve worked a lot on just playing the next play, and I felt like I wasn’t lingering or thinking about the last play at all and neither was any of our team. Yeah, we can definitely get better there, and I appreciate everyone supporting me, and I’ve got to get better. So I will.”
Jones wasn’t helped by Smith’s misplay. The tight end just couldn’t hold on to the ball.
Jones, however, wasn’t about to throw his tight end under the bus.
“I think Jonnu has done everything right. He’s out there running. He’s out there blocking, doing what he’s supposed to do,” said Jones. “Me and him, we’re not always going to have perfect days. Nobody is. I think it’s more about just getting that connection in practice and the timing. That comes with reps.”
Between Smith’s drops, losing White and a lack of blocking up front, it was a long day for Jones.
“It’s not good enough. We’ve got to be better and it wasn’t good enough,” said tight end Hunter Henry. “We have to keep him upright, and when he is upright he is making some good throws. We have got to be better.”
Jakobi Meyers was Jones’ favorite target, catching nine balls for 94 yards, followed by Bourne with six catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Jones was only 7-for-19 on third down, and 0-for-1 in the red zone.
“(The Saints) did what they did. But it’s more about us and me just executing our plays. I can do a better job of that,” he said. “I don’t like to assume anything. I just like to watch the tape and look at it from a bird’s-eye view and don’t be emotional about it. Just look at it and learn from it and then flip the page. I’m sure there’s plays I left on the field. I know there are. And I’m sure that the offense as a whole, we can all play better together, and we will.”