Quarterback Mac Jones completed 18 of 35 passes for 218 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in New England’s 27-24 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in Inglewood, Calif. Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
For as much as the Patriots’ defense had quarterback Justin Herbert flustered, the same could be said of the Chargers’ defense with Mac Jones.
For once, the Patriots’ rookie went through an extended stretch where he was missing targets left and right, and looked unsettled in the pocket.
After starting out fast, hitting on deep balls of 44 and 33 yards to Nelson Agholor and Hunter Henry, the normally accurate Jones hit a rough patch, thanks in part to the Chargers successfully disrupting his timing.
The good news?
Jones didn’t make any mistakes while he was in a bit of a fog, and made enough plays in the second half, to help produce a 27-24 win over the Chargers at SoFi stadium.
If Jones can be off, and win, it’s a good sign for the Patriots, who won with a healthy dose of defense and special teams, while the offense did just enough to complement the win.
“I definitely didn’t have my best day at all,” Jones said following the win. “I think everyone around me had a great day. That’s what football is all about. I gotta find ways to improve in that aspect of just being consistent and making the throws I know I can make.”
After starting out completing six of his first nine passes, including some nice throws to Agholor, Henry and Kendrick Bourne, Jones went cold. He went 2 for 13 during a span that lasted much of the second quarter. He finished the afternoon going 18 for 35 for 218 yards and a 70.9 passer rating.
He was sacked once, but it was pressure from the Chargers’ front that seemed to rattle him.
“You gotta watch the film and look at the X’s and O’s of it. But the overall message is keep playing. It isn’t always going to be perfect,” said Jones. “For me, sometimes that’s really hard, because I want it to be better than that. I feel it falls on my hands a lot, because that’s what quarterback is.”
True, but it’s important to remember Jones is still a rookie, he’s still learning and adjusting to different things defenses throw at him.
Once the Patriots relied more on the run game, taking some of the pressure off Jones, he settled in during the second half, and made a few big throws to keep the sticks moving.
Perhaps most important was the 14-play drive in the fourth quarter, which took nearly seven minutes off the clock to set up what proved the winning field goal by Nick Folk.
Jones hit N’Keal Harry with a 15-yard pass, converted on a key third down by hitting Jakobi Meyers, and let his backs do the rest of the work to run the clock down.
“(The running game) definitely helped me,” said Jones. “Just being able to feel comfortable with the play-action and stuff. That’s how it should work . . . I think the line blocked really hard.
“The (Chargers) defense, they were a little bit different,” he said. “But we knew what they were going to do. We just had to communicate well. And the line played great, opening up those holes.”
Jones had seemed impervious to pressure, taking hits to make plays, but it clearly got to him in this game. He did acknowledge the pressure made him get the ball out a little too quickly on his deliveries.
“I was definitely quick on some stuff. That’s just me,” he said. “Whatever may have happened, I just got it out too quick. I can improve on that. And I’ll find ways to know when I need to get it out and know when I don’t. That’s part of it.
“It just starts with a little more patience and reminding myself I need patience in knowing when to hold it, and knowing when to get rid of it.”
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