Patriots' QB Mac Jones Rightfully Taking Blame For Eagles Loss?
For as bad as the New England Patriots and Mac Jones started against the Philadelphia Eagles, they were basically one play from beating the reigning NFC champions. Ultimately, the early 16-0 deficit proved too much to climb out of, as the Patriots' comeback attempt fell short in their 25-20 loss.
"They kept fighting play by play," Jones said. "Don't look at the scoreboard, and Coach [Bill] Belichick did a great job of explaining that to us. Just play each play for what it is and definitely had too many bad plays versus good plays for me. Everybody around me played a great game and just got to be better."
Jones was 35 of 54 for 316 yards, throwing three touchdowns and an interception. His pass on the interception was high, and tipped into the air by receiver Kendrick Bourne before falling into the hands of Eagles cornerback Darius Slay. He ran it back for a 70-yard touchdown to give Philadelphia a 9-0 lead late in the first quarter.
After struggling to sustain any offense for most of the first half, the Patriots' third-year quarterback settled in late in the second quarter, throwing touchdowns to Hunter Henry and Bourne to make it 16-14 heading into halftime.
The offense sputtered again for most of the second half as three field goals from Philadelphia kicker Jake Elliott made it 25-14 with 5:38 left in the game. Jones quickly responded by finding Bourne for an 11-yard touchdown to make it 25-20 with 3:43 left to play.
Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
Jones and the New England offense had two chances to win the game, one of which they made it into the red zone, but both ended in turnovers on downs.
In a game in which the Patriots dominated statistically, the Pick 6 turned out to be the deciding play.
"They gave me the ball twice to win the game, and I couldn't do it," Jones said. "As a quarterback, that hurts. You get a chance to win the game twice and can't do it. Just got to learn from it. You only get so many opportunities in the NFL to do that, and I feel like I definitely let the team down.
"I felt like in the most critical times, I played my worst."
Having a chance to win against the Eagles is nothing to scoff at. If Jones and the offense can continue to build on the good from their performance and avoid slow starts, they'll be better positioned to win games compared to last year.
Jones and the Patriots will be back in action on Sunday Night Football when they host the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium at 8:20 p.m.
