Patriots QB Mac Jones: ‘Throw The F**** Ball’ Tirade In Loss to Bills - VIDEO
FOXBORO — To say that the New England Patriots were frustrated by their 24-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium may be a bit of an understatement.
At least, it appeared that way for Pats quarterback Mac Jones.
Just one week removed from his most complete effort of the season, New England’s second-year starter was flustered for most of the night, finishing 22 of 36 for 195 yards and a touchdown pass to rookie Marcus Jones, who scored on his first offensive snap as a pro.
While struggles with clock management, combined with continued futility on third down, would cause distress for any quarterback, Jones’ displeasure seemingly reached a fever pitch in the night’s closing moments.
In a clip from Amazon Prime’s broadcast, (which has unsurprisingly made the rounds on social media) Jones can clearly be seen yelling expletives during a heated show of emotion on the Patriots sideline. While the subject of Jones’ tirade was not formally identified, the nature of his comments suggest that they may have been directed at the Pats offensive coaching staff, particularly play-caller Matt Patricia.
Though several amateur attempts have been made to read Jones’ lips, the 24-year-old appeared to utter the phrases “throw the f—ing ball” and “the f—ing quick game sucks.”
To his credit, Jones immediately addressed the outburst when speaking with reporters after the game.
“Obviously just kind of let my emotions get to me,” Jones said. “But, we’re kind of playing from behind. What I said was about throwing it deeper [as opposed to] the short game. I’ve gotta execute that part better, but it’s the short game that we kept going to — which was working. But I felt we needed chunk plays, and I shouted that out to kind of get everyone going. And that’s emotional, that’s football. I’m passionate about this game.
While Jones’ language may have left something to be desired, his frustrations are understandable. New England once again demonstrated futility on third down, converting only 3 of 12 attempts. Even in their most well-intended efforts, several of Jones’ pass attempts hit their intended targets short of the first-down marker.
With inadequate protection from the team’s offensive line, Jones has had insufficient time to operate. As a result, he has had little-to-no choice but to take short-yardage check downs.
In order to provide his offense with a much-needed spark, Jones was hoping to take more shots downfield. Though he acknowledged his part in the Pats offensive woes, he was honest in his belief that a successful big play had the chance to turn the tide — that is, with proper execution.
“We kind of needed a spark,” Jones remarked. “When you’re playing from behind against a really good team and offense, you need to go out there and make better plays. That starts with me. Definitely wasn’t good enough by me tonight.”
“At the end of the day, we’ve gotta execute the plays and do a better job,” Jones continued. “You wanna go out there and say, ‘Hey, let’s get a 50-yard gain.’ Sometimes it doesn’t happen, but we might as well go down trying and try and make it work.”
Despite admitting regret in letting his sentiments get the best of him, Jones made it clear that his frustration was with the situation, rather than any individual.
“Obviously, you don’t want to let your emotions get the best of you,” Jones said with contrition. “It wasn’t directed at anybody … just emotion coming out … At that point in the game, it was just like, ‘All right, we’re playing catchup here, let’s just go for it, let’s be aggressive, let’s take those shots, let’s just go down fighting. And Matty P was on the same page, and we kind of did that at the end there and moved it a little bit more.”
With 10 days remaining until their next game, Jones will be spending his immediate future reflecting on his performance, while making the necessary improvements to lead his team down the stretch.
“I'm going to give it everything I've got every week, no matter what,” Jones declared with conviction. “I'll go until the wheels fall off. But got to be better executing plays. [The coaches] are putting us in a good position. We just got to go out there and do it together.”
Following a brief weekend respite, the Pats will begin their preparations for Week 14. The team will travel to Glendale, AZ for a Monday Night Football matchup with the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on Dec. 12.
Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots
New England and beyond! Get your Patriots game tickets from SI Tickets ... here!
Follow Patriots Country on Twitter and Facebook
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Patriots? Click Here
More Patriots coverage from Sports Illustrated here.
