Subscribe
Follow Us
It's no secret that Mac Jones and the New England Patriots have struggled to move the ball in a major way through the first three weeks of the 2023 season.
Sure, Jones is ninth in passing yards through the first three games with 748. But the Patriots have the fewest number of passing plays that go for 20-plus yards in the league with three.
Jones has notably struggled to complete passes on 20-plus-yard throws, too. He's completed just three 20-plus-yard throws despite throwing a league-high 18 such passes this season, per Pro Football Focus. Only three quarterbacks who have started all three games have completed fewer such passes, and Jones' 16.7 completion percentage on those throws is the second-worst only to Joe Burrow (11.1 percent).
As Jones was 27th in the league in deep pass completion percentage last season (38.8 percent), this isn't necessarily a new problem for him. But it's been evident that he hasn't been on the same page as his receivers when he throws the ball down the field so far this season.
Jones knows the importance of completing those passes, and he has fixing them placed among the top of the list of issues he'd like to solve.
“I love chunk plays,” Jones told reporters on Wednesday. “My whole career, I’ve kind of thrived off those, play action and normal chunk plays, so just trying to keep doing them. You’ve got to keep the hook in the water, I guess they say, so you’ve got to have the bait out there and continue to fish, you know?”
"Really just focused on the Cowboys."
David Andrews, Hunter Henry and Mac Jones asked about Mac's incident with Sauce Gardner last Sunday, and the conversation about Mac around the league since 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/bcfy0bV8hB
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) September 27, 2023
As Mac Jones said that he's working on resolving the issues, he's taking an approach that might be viewed as a bit unorthodox while stating confidence that it'll work out.
“I think we’ll hit them. We’re working on it,” Jones said. “I’ve looked at other teams in the league and how they do it, and kind of gotten a really good idea of how I can improve on it, how we can improve on it as a team. The offensive line’s doing good protecting, so we definitely need to hit them, and looking forward to just growing in that area.”
Of course, you need more than just the quarterback to throw well in order to complete 20-plus-yard passes. You also need protection from the offensive line and receivers who are able to create separation down the field or those who can catch the ball in traffic.
Those issues have also been evident for the Patriots through the first two games of the season. The offensive line allowed six sacks through the first two games, juggling injured offensive linemen in and out of the lineup while having major issues at right tackle.
In addition, the Patriots were without DeVante Parker in Week 1, leaving some of the onus in the receiving game to fall on sixth-round rookies Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte early in the season. JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was the team's priciest addition this offseason, has also struggled to make an impact, recording just 10 receptions for 66 yards through the first three games.
So, it'll fall on more than Jones' shoulders to right the ship in that facet of the offense.
