The New England Patriots will trot out Mac Jones at starting quarterback again in Week 6 versus the Las Vegas Raiders. Despite his recent struggles, Jones is still getting support from his coaches as the team looks to right the ship.
Both Bill Belichick and Bill O'Brien stated their faith in the Patriots quarterback earlier in the week. Jones stated that he appreciates the support from his coach, explaining what he needs to do in order to improve his play.
“I think a lot of that is really good and a lot of things that I need to improve on as a quarterback,” Jones told reporters on Wednesday as the Patriots prepped for the Raiders. “So, that’s what I think of. What can I do better? You know, what are the actual issues? Instead of just throwing stuff up in the air, let’s look at the tape, you know, like the plays in the game, 11-on-11, and really see what’s going on. That’s the important part to me because you can always try to problem solve that way.
“But, when you are kind of just chasing different things and narratives and things like that, it’s hard, right?” he continued. “But, when you sit in the room together and look at the tape, there’s a lot of things that you can be like, ‘OK, I’m going to do this or I’m going to try to do this drop on this play or read it this way,’ or whatever. So, it’s all about trial and error. At the same time, you want it to be really good on game days. That’s where I’ve been disappointed with myself, because it hasn’t been great on game day. So, why hasn’t it been? That’s something I’m focused on.”
Bill Belichick and Bill O'Brien reaffirm Mac Jones as Patriots' QB1
Jones has struggled mightily over the Patriots' last two games, committing three turnovers each in a pair of blowout losses (throwing four interceptions and losing two fumbles). He was benched for Bailey Zappe by the start of the fourth quarter against both the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints, games in which New England was outscored by a combined score of 72-3. Jones has been responsible for more points for the other team in those two games than he's been for the Patriots, too, throwing two pick-6s and losing a fumble for a score over.
Despite all of that, Belichick said Wednesday morning that Jones would start against the Raiders.
“Every situation is different,” Belichick told reporters when asked about getting players to play through struggles. “I just try to do what’s always best for the team. It’s as simple as that.”
O'Brien also had praise for Jones' work ethic on Tuesday.
“It's not about one guy but as the quarterback you're going to shoulder a lot of that. He understands that,” O'Brien told reporters. “He's working hard. He's in here early [Tuesday]. He was in here [Monday on a day off] thinking about things to do better. We're ready to go for practice and try to dig ourselves out of it.”
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