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The New England Patriots had something more to worry about than just their play following their season-opening loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Starting quarterback Mac Jones suffered a back injury that required him to take X-rays.
After three hours of a game filled with bad plays, the Patriots received good news that Jones' X-rays reportedly came back negative and he's likely just dealing with back spasms.
Jones confirmed as much on Monday and is hopeful that he'll play in Week 2 against the Steelers.
“I definitely feel better,” Jones said. “I want to be able to be ready to play against Pittsburgh and I feel good, but yesterday just talking with the trainers, just trying to get back. Wasn’t doing too hot after the game, but definitely feel a lot better.”
Now that Mac Jones' health appears to be fine, at least for the time being, he and the rest of the Patriots' offense have a lot to work on. New England scored just seven points against Miami on Sunday, with Jones completing 21-of-30 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown. Jones was responsible, though, for two of New England's three turnovers–throwing a pick on a fade pass to DeVante Parker on the opening drive and was later stripped-sacked on a safety blitz that resulted in a Dolphins scoop-and-score.
Mac Jones gets strip sacked; Melvin Ingram scoops and scores.
Dolphins lead 10-0, 2Q
— Mike Uva (@Mike_Uva) September 11, 2022
Despite the double-digit loss, Mac Jones had a similar tone as Bill Belichick following the loss. He acknowledged that a pair of bad plays swayed the outcome, but also thought that there were good plays in the mix.
“After watching the film, I think we did a lot of good things. We just have to eliminate the really bad things,” Jones said. “You know, in terms of actually executing the plays, it was actually a lot better than what we thought and what people probably think, but we have to score more points, take care of the football and eliminate the really bad plays. But we had plenty of good plays. Everyone fought pretty hard, and we just have to do a better job at that next week.”
The strip-sack for a touchdown was the second time in just five plays that Jones was sacked on Sunday as the Dolphins successfully got home on those blitzes. Jones deferred when asked whether or not it was his duty to do something pre-snap to adjust to what the Dolphins were showing.
Mac Jones airs one out to DeVante Parker and the ball gets tipped to a defender for the INT pic.twitter.com/j5IqNZFkzh
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) September 11, 2022
“I think that’s an x’s and o’s question and you’ll have to ask Coach Belichick,” Jones added. “But, we know we can protect better, and I can do things to communicate better. So, we’ll all get better at that and that’s all there is to it.”
While the communication might have been off between Jones and the Patriots' offensive line during that stretch of the game, that wasn't the case between the quarterback and New England's offensive coaches, at least according to Jones. In the first game where offensive line coach Matt Patricia called the plays, Jones called the communication between Patricia and quarterbacks coach Joe Judge “good.”
“I think the communication on the sideline was really good between all of us, and we’ll continue to grow in that area,” the young quarterback added. “Same with the operation. It’ll get faster. I really like our coaching staff. I think they’ve done a good job just staying positive. It’s a long season and they know that, we know that. We have a lot of games left, and a big one this week, so we’ll try to improve that this week.”
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In the midst of the offense's poor play and the debut of their unusual coaching style was the benching of Kendrick Bourne. The wide receiver had a career year in his first season with the Patriots in 2021, catching 55 passes for 800 yards and five touchdowns while being Jones' second-most targeted receiver.
Bourne eventually came into the game in the fourth quarter, recording a 41-yard reception on a go route on his second play. That was also his final play of the game as the Patriots fumbled the ball a couple plays later and didn't get it back.
Jones seemed to want one of his favorite targets to be able to help out when asked about the chemistry he has with Bourne.
“I think KB, he’s very consistent in how he plays,” Jones said. “I know exactly where he’s going to be and stuff. We have a good amount of banked reps, as I always say, and I feel that way about a lot of guys on our team. I feel like we can spread the ball around, and we just got to continue to do that.
“Like I said, KB’s a big part of it, and we want him to be able to help, and anyone to help. We just want to be able to score more points.”
He also gave Bourne an encouraging message.
A wild Kendrick Bourne has appeared! pic.twitter.com/u42wKbCEJ2
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) September 11, 2022
“KB has to control what he can control and when he gets the chance to play or practice, just like we all do, we have to try and do our best that we can,” the Patriots QB furthered. “He just has to continue to be himself. He’s done a good job. He’s a great teammate, and we have a lot of guys on our team like that. I hope he can contribute more, and he will, and his time will come.
“Like I always say, the plays will come, don’t chase them. He’ll get a chance and when he does, I have confidence in him. He’s a great route runner, great competitor. He’s just got to do what he’s doing and continue to see his role increase.”
Jones said he'll be able to participate when the Patriots return to practice on Wednesday, the first of three practices ahead of Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
