Mac Jones' Comments After Latest Start Give Major Patriots Déjà Vu

While New England fans revel in the bright future of rookie Drake Maye, they need to look no further than Jacksonville for a reminder of how far they've come since last year at the quarterback position. In his first start with his hometown Jaguars, former Patriots field general Mac Jones put on a putrid display in the team's 12-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Despite the low bar for victory, Jones proved unable to give his team enough offense to prevail. While he had a one-yard "tush push" touchdown, Jones went 14 for 22 for only 111 yards with 2 interceptions, good for a 38.3 rating.

The performance mirrored those of his last season in New England, dampening talks that a change of scenery could potentially revitalize the young quarterback's career. His postgame comments also mirrored those heard after many Foxboro losses.

Acknowledging his shortcomings, he spoke to the opportunities given to him by his defense.

“They played a very good football game and a game that gave us plenty of chances to win. As a quarterback, I got to get us in the end zone or get some field goals on the board. We were in it at the end, but that’s the NFL. You never know how the games are going to go, so just got to finish better.”

It was the type of statement he had become used to making after squandering many of those chances under Bill Belichick.

"“Going back to our defense, I already told them they played a great game, and I got to put a better product out there to help us win.”"

- Jaguars Quarterback Mac Jones

With Jaguars starter Trevor Lawrence potentially injured for the remainder of the season, Jones will get more opportunities to try and return to his 2021 Pro Bowl form. Yet early on in the Drake Maye era, Patriots fans have no regrets about ending the Mac Jones experiment in Foxboro.

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