3 Patriots Fans Should Blame (and 2 They Shouldn’t) for Blowout Loss to Cowboys

Blame: Mac Jones

Sunday’s game was, unfortunately, another rock-bottom day for the Mac Jones Experience.

The third-year quarterback played with the poise of a high school freshman, making inexcusable mistakes that you’d expect from someone much younger than him.

I mean, how did he not feel Dante Fowler chasing him down from behind in the second quarter? That fumble was easily avoidable if he had any awareness and decided to focus on ball security for even a second.

Somehow that wasn’t even his worst TO of the day. Everyone knows a QB shouldn’t throw back across the field, as it invites disaster to strike with talented defenders who can undercut a pass if it’s not thrown with enough on it. Well, that’s exactly what happened on DaRon Bland’s pick-six, as Jones telegraphed the pass to Kendrick Bournce and gave the Cowboys CB more than enough time to make a play for the ball.

The surprising thing is, New England could’ve won that game with a better quarterback under center. The defense held its own, for the most part, in the first quarter. It was the offense — and specifically Jones — who gave Dallas’ defense easy points, making the lead insurmountable.

That kind of performance would get a starting QB who’s on the bubble benched most places. Not in New England, though, where running things back is somehow better than facing the issues head-on.