The New England Patriots’ 2021 season came to a crashing end with their 47-17 defeat to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild-card round.
Rookie quarterback Mac Jones made the first of what may end up being a multitude of playoff starts for the Patriots in this contest. The former Alabama Crimson Tide star did not have his best game, as he threw a pair of interceptions and failed to get much going over the first half.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick noted multiple times in the campaign about just how he has been pleased with Jones’ development. During a press conference on Sunday, Belichick echoed these sentiments, although he is now looking ahead to conducting an overall evaluation of the entire team.
“Mac helped us a lot and we look forward to working with him next year,” Belichick said. “We all have things we need to work on and that goes for every player and that'll be part of the conversation with every player and for the coaching staff, what we all individually and collectively need to improve on. And so, that's a process that we go through with each player and so there's no need to single out anybody because there's nobody to single out.
“We evaluate everything we do and there are good things we did and then there are other things that we need to improve on or maybe change or adjust or whatever it happens to be.”
Jones emerged as a contender for the 2021 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honor, as he guided the Patriots to a wild-card spot in the AFC and recorded 22 passing touchdowns in 17 regular season games played.
Jones could see plenty of turnover with his offensive unit in the upcoming offseason, especially as the likes of wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and running back James White are set to become unrestricted free agents. The Patriots front office sure will look to bolster the offense across the board for the first-year passer.
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