Mac Talk: Patriots QB Jones Refuses to Forget Playoff Loss to Bills
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Conventional wisdom suggests that New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones would do anything to forget his January performance against the Buffalo Bills as he enters a crucial second season as the heir to Tom Brady's Foxboro throne.
But, much like the 69,188 people that braved freezing temperatures at Highmark Stadium that night, Jones doesn't want to forget Buffalo's 47-17 shellacking in the AFC Wild Card round any time soon.
A cherished piece of Bills history lingers in Jones' locker at Gillette Stadium, where the franchise quarterback has taped a photo from the blowout defeat. Jones himself is depicted walking off the field with his head down as the Bills defense celebrates, perhaps after one of his two interceptions. The game's final score is commemorated in red ink.
Jones addressed his intentional conjuring of brutal memories after New England faced Carolina in a preseason showdown on Friday.
"I’ve always been a big fan of having motivational stuff in your locker,” Jones declared, per Zack Cox of NESN. "(The photo is from) last year, but I think it’s motivation to just come in here and work every day."
Warmer sources of inspiration linger in Jones' locker in the form of a pair of historic passages. Jones was inspired by a visit to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (where the famed Wimbledon tennis major is held) to carry the poem "If-" by Rudyard Kipling while a remnant of Brady is there through President Theodore Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" passage from his "Citizenship in a Republic" speech at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1904. Brady would often quote the president's words after originally discovering them during his time at the University of Michigan. The current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback would use the passage as the title of his ten-episode docuseries streaming on ESPN+.
Jones was perhaps the most effective member of last year's touted rookie quarterback class that produced mediocre results. The Bills, however, undoubtedly had his number in his introduction to the long-standing AFC East rivalry: in three games against the Bills, Jones posted a 56.6 passer rating. Though the Patriots earned a 14-10 victory over Buffalo in the first of two regular season meetings in December, Jones threw only three passes.
Jones will have to be patient for his first opportunity at vengeance against the Bills: the first leg of the teams' annual pair lands on Dec. 1 in New England as part of Amazon Prime's newly acquired "Thursday Night Football" package.
