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FOXBOROUGH – The New England Patriots-Miami Dolphins matchup on Sunday was supposed to be the fourth time that a pair of former Alabama teammates and quarterbacks faced off in their young careers.
However, that won't be the case. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa will miss Sunday's game after being diagnosed with a concussion for a second time this season. New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, who joined Tagovailoa at Alabama at the same time in 2017 and backed him up for three seasons, not only shared his disappointment that he won't get to face his former college teammate, but also expressed concern for Tua Tagovailoa's health, too.
“I love Tua. I think he's just a great dude,” Mac Jones said of Tagovailoa on Wednesday. “I was fortunate to learn from him and be his friend, obviously, at Alabama. Obviously, had kind of a tough year here with the injury stuff but also has had a great year. Has played really well in almost every game.
“So, tough to hear that news. I have all the respect for him, his family, his brother, everybody. It’s a great family. I hope he feels better,”
Jones said he “loves Tua,” calling him “a great friend” and expressed some sadness for him and his family as he deals w/his second concussion this season.
The two QBs were, of course, teammates at #Alabama for 3 seasons. #Patriots #Dolphins #ForeverNE
— Conor Roche (@ConorRoche27) December 28, 2022
Alas, Jones and the Patriots along with the Dolphins still have a game to play on Sunday. For Jones, he and his team's offense has struggled for much of the season yet at 7-8, the Patriots still control their own destiny despite a pair of crushing losses in the last two weeks. Jones recognized that the opportunity is still there for New England to reach the postseason.
“I think that’s the word, is opportunity,” Jones said. “We have a great chance to kind of go out there and compete against a team that we’re familiar with, but also a team that has played really well this year and has great players on offense, defense, special teams, great coaching. From top to bottom it’s just a really good team that we’re going to get to go against.
“So, definitely starts with us just cleaning up things at practice, attacking each day and realizing what type of opportunity we have in front of us. You’ve got to understand what’s at risk, what we want to get to and you just have to play your heart out, play for each other and go against a really good team.”
Mac Jones and the Patriots' offense might have had a breakthrough though in Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals. After being held scoreless as a unit for the first three quarters, the Patriots' offense had a pair of touchdown drives and nearly had a third before Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled at the 5-yard line.
The second-year quarterback certainly sensed there were some bright spots for the unit too during the fourth quarter, but recognized that the battle is to turn that quarter into something they can do consistently over four quarters on a week-to-week basis.
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“I think it’s just a good example of not quitting, playing for each other and just trying to do everything right,” Jones said. “When we do things right, it’s really good and when we don’t, it’s not so good. Just having that mindset of, ‘hey, let’s go out there and have fun and compete.’ We’ve got nothing to lose, so just go out there and let it rip and play the game we love.
“That's what it’s about. Doing that from the start to the finish, not just one quarter, like we've done it some games for a quarter. We’ve done it in some games for two, three quarters and some games for four. So it’s like, how can we just do it consistently, all the time. That’s the important part, is doing it all the time.”
"We've got nothing to lose so just go out there and let it rip."
Mac Jones talks Patriots confidence heading into matchup vs. the Miami Dolphins #ForeverNE
Presented by: @Hyundai pic.twitter.com/mMrJN2AAx2
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) December 28, 2022
New England has to turn that momentum it built in the fourth quarter of last week's game quickly though. While it still controls its own playoff destiny, New England could be eliminated from playoff contention if it loses on Sunday.
Jones, who won a national title as a starter and another as a backup at Alabama behind Tua Tagovailoa in 2018, has played in his fair share of big games, including a playoff game as a rookie last season. He'll approach Sunday's big game like he's approached all of them.
“I've been fortunate to play in some big games. I know a lot of guys on our team have too, obviously the older guys,” Mac Jones said. “That's always the best thing to do, is talk to them about what to do and how do you prepare differently, is there anything different. A lot of them say the same thing, it's another game. You’ve got to go out there and play the game just like you’re a five-year-old kid.
“Regardless of the stakes at hand or anything like that, it all comes down to execution of the plays. That's true. I think when you can stack up a bunch of really good plays and then you look up and focus on what the actual plays are and not the results then a lot of times good things happen. It’s really about focusing on the process and doing everything you can throughout the week to just continue to do your normal routine.”
