Eye on the Opponent: Patriots QB Mac Jones Playing for His Future
The New York Giants aren't the only team whose quarterback situation appears to be in flux, as New England Patriots gunslinger Mac Jones is in a fight to salvage what’s left of the season and his future as the Patriots' franchise quarterback.
Drafted 15th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, Jones quickly sprang into the starting quarterback role and was regarded as one of the early bright spots among his peers. In his rookie season, the Alabama product played in 17 games and completed 67.6% (career high) of his passes for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions for one of the best debuts by a Patriots novice quarterback and a playoff appearance.
The next year saw Jones’s stats drop slightly amid three missed games and an 8-9 overall record. However, the 25-year-old finished just south of 3,000 passing yards with 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions to help the Patriots maintain one of the serviceable offensive units in the entire league.
Where the floor has suddenly fallen out from beneath Jones’ feet is this fall as New England’s offense has sputtered amid injuries and a 2-8 record. Like the Giants, their offensive line has been a carousel each week, and the result has been the NFL’s worst pass block win rate of 44%.
Even with some of their more talented skill players on the field, the Patriots own some of the worst averages in passing and rushing. Bill O’Brien’s group ranks anywhere between 22nd and 29th overall in attempts, yards, touchdowns, and average yards per attempt on both sides of the offense.
They also struggle to stay on the field for longer than two and a half minutes on average and convert the pigskin on third and fourth downs, leading to an inability to score consistently.
With these weaknesses, Jones has seen his numbers crater to career lows, including a 65.4% completion percentage for 2,031 yards, ten touchdowns, and an average throw of 6.3 yards. His rushing abilities have stymied as well, posting 26 carries for 96 yards and an average rush of 3.7 yards, albeit the Patriots rank eighth in the league in team run block win rate this season.
However, as much as he has been dealt a bad deck of cards with the organization, it’s hard to say Jones isn’t a culprit of his own struggles either. The former two-time national champion has been incredibly turnover-prone, giving up ten interceptions for his third straight campaign with double-digit miscues and his fastest span to that number.
Adding to his turnover woes is a tendency to chuck the football in dangerous areas of the defense. Per PFF, Jones has a 5.1% turnover-worthy play rate on the season, which has gone as high as 20.8% in some of his performances. That dismal stat has impacted his confidence to make big-time throws outside the pocket or down the field, leading to an inclination for sacks totaling 83 on the year.
To make matters worse, Jones will face a Giants defensive front that has turned up the heat on opposing backfields and pressed the quarterback into turnovers in recent weeks. Nothing proved that more than last Sunday when Big Blue forced the Washington Commanders into six turnovers, including one to seal the deal on a 31-19 road win.
The Giants increased presence in the backfield—powered by the strong sack efforts of players like Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence—has taken them up to the 12th-best unit in pass rush win rate and shortened opponent drives to an average of 2:33 and 5.5 plays. Winning the battle of third and fourth downs has also seen an uptick to top-10 status, which has helped the team remain competitive with a mostly mediocre offense.
All these things could bode well for defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s defense against Jones and the Patriots, whose offense is ranked 31st in total points, 21st in total turnovers, and 26th in third down conversions.
The one element on New England’s side is their experienced coaching that knows how to adjust to certain defensive schemes to make a few visits to the red zone, where the Patriots are 13th in scoring percentage.
None of that has helped Jones or the Patriots enough to right the ship and turn their season from continuing its nosedive. Jones will need to step it up and help push his offense to payday like Tommy DeVito last Sunday against Washington for the Giants.
There is much more on the line for him than just finishing the season with pride that has characterized these matchups between the Giants and the Patriots. If the Giants dominate New England this Sunday, Jones could be writing his ticket out of New England very soon.
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