It starts with Mac Jones: New England Patriots offense is a train wreck
Remember all that hype surrounding Mac Jones prior to the 2022 preseason? Well, that has all but disappeared as the second-year quarterback and the New England Patriots first-team offense look like a train wreck in two preseason games.
In the preseason finale against Josh McDaniels and the Las Vegas Raiders, the Patriots got walloped 23-6. Jones and company just didn’t seem on the same page through the first three drives for the offense. Two three-and-outs paired with a drive ended in a Mac Jones interception mirrored a unit highly inconsistent and lacking cohesive communication.
Regression instead of progression for Jones?
New England Patriots, Mac Jones in a land of regression
It’s just the preseason, but the fact that it took four drives for the offensive to put anything together was concerning. The New England Patriots have the talent to be a solid offensive team. Heck, they have the talent to be a very good offensive team, but between Jones, issues in the offensive line and whoever in the world is calling the plays, there is a hole in the ship they better patch up fast before the start of the regular season.
More importantly, Jones needs to find his confidence and simply execute. He has the weapons around him. DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Nelson Agholor, Jakobi Meyers, Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith and a duo of running backs in Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson capable of being dual threats coming out of the back. While there was a flash of what they can accomplish in a final drive of the night that led ultimately to a field goal.
As with the trend in training camp and joint practices, it is taking Jones and the offense too long to get the engine started and that’s a trend that has to end soon.
"“We want to go out there and execute better,” Jones said following the 23-6 loss. “That’s all it comes down to. Individually I think we can all play better, and once that happens, collectively it’ll look a lot better. A good drive at the end. Obviously, I wish we scored (a touchdown), but we want to try to do that every drive and keep the consistency there. Just not a good enough effort from us, and from me. I have to do a better job. It’s one game, one day. You dwell on it, or learn from it and move on.”"
As much as fans are programmed not to get too excited when the team looks like world beaters in the preseason, perhaps we shouldn’t get too down when they struggle. The problem is there hasn’t been enough flashes to brush off those struggles. There is also no confidence in who is serving as the offensive play caller, whether that is Joe Judge, Matt Patricia, or Bill Belichick himself.
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With a lot of work to do in two weeks, it is up to Belichick to get it all figured out. But it does start with Mac Jones who has to do his part not to make the kind of mistakes he made on Friday night. He may have to make plays happen like the pass he made to Henry off the run to gain a first down on the first team’s final drive. It may just take him making plays on his own and he knows it.
"“It starts with me and just doing the individual things right,” Jones continued. “Once 10 other guys do it right, then we’ll have a collective football play. We have to do that more consistently. It’s not about rah-rah speeches or things like that. It’s just pure execution. We’re going to work on it and grind through it. I think it’s good to kinda be where we are and learn from everything and have good conversations. That’s the important part. Don’t just sit there and say it was bad. It is what it is.”"
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What it is right now is a mess. Fortunately, the New England Patriots have some time to figure it out a bit. All it takes is one big play to get the momentum flowing and once that happens maybe the offense will get rolling and look like something more than decent.
Maybe then, the hype surround Mac Jones in Year 2 will play out.