Mac Jones had some struggles in the Patriots’ 27-17 loss to the Colts on Sunday, including interceptions on back-to-back drives, but also helped New England get back into the game. Joshua Bessex/Associated Press
For the better part of three quarters against the Colts on Saturday, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones looked indecisive.
After throwing just three passes in his previous game almost two weeks earlier, it became easy to wonder if the mixture of rust and a lack of confidence was playing a role in his unflattering performance.
He threw two interceptions. Neither was his first read.
When the first read wasn’t open, when Jones’ eyes needed to turn from one side of the field to the other, his instincts failed him. He didn’t see linebacker Darius Leonard through the middle of the field on the first pick, and under-threw Brandon Bolden on a short out-route for the second one.
“Rookie pains,” tweeted former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman.
Said tight end Hunter Henry, “I think people forget that he’s still a rookie.”
A few days later, there seems to be a couple ways of looking at Jones’ disappointing performance in the Patriots’ 27-17 loss to the Colts.
The first is that Jones played like a rookie. He wasn’t up to the task of beating a quality AFC opponent in prime time with adequate throwing conditions. The Colts broadcast to the world that they wanted to see if Jones could beat them with his arm. They stuffed the Pats’ run game and asked Jones to do it. He couldn’t. And now the Patriots have to contend with every other team begging them to do the same thing.
Can the Pats beat a good team when they fall behind early? Is their quarterback good enough, and smart enough, and instinctive enough to make it happen?
And there’s a second way to look at Saturday’s game: Jones handled adversity well.
Even after he had thrown interceptions in three attempts on back-to-back possessions to end the second quarter and begin the third, even when his team was down 20-0 entering the fourth, Jones didn’t fold.
He actually played his best football in the fourth quarter, which he began by extending the play with smooth footwork in the pocket, then stepped up and found Henry on a crossing route to his left for a 12-yard touchdown.
His next possession came after Devin McCourty intercepted Carson Wentz near midfield and Jones drove the Pats down inside the 10-yard line only to come up short. Then Bill Belichick decided to kick a field goal, a debatable choice with the Pats down 20-7.
With the Pats down 20-10 and 3:48 left on the clock, Jones drove them 82 yards in 1:27. He threw perhaps his boldest throw of his young career as he stepped into pressure and lobbed one down the the middle of the field to N’Keal Harry. It wasn’t quite a 50-50 ball, since Harry had inside position, but Jones’ trust in his 6-foot-4 receiver was rewarded with a 43-yard gain.
Three plays later, Jones fired a dart between two linebackers for another touchdown to Henry that put the Pats down just three points.
Jones’ final possession with the Pats down 27-17 was a dud, but he had shown enough to earn some respect and perhaps some trust after his ugly first three quarters.
The question that remained to start the week, and will surely linger throughout the season and postseason is this: Is the Patriots quarterback equipped to beat the high-scoring teams of the AFC when he has to throw the ball more than 30 times a game?
In the Pats’ nine wins, Jones has averaged just 26 attempts.
In their five losses, he’s averaged 39 attempts.
This isn’t exactly groundbreaking as most teams run more when ahead and throw more when trailing, but it’s a reminder that Jones hasn’t had to work very hard when things are going well.
It’s not different from Tom Brady’s first year as a starter in 2001. In three playoff games that year, Brady averaged just 32 passes per game. He threw just one total touchdown the entire postseason. And the Pats went 3-0 while winning the Super Bowl (Brady was just 16 for 27 with 145 yards).
In 42 playoff games since then, Brady has averaged 40 attempts per game.
Trust is earned over time. The Patriots didn’t show the most trust in Jones when they kept dialing up run plays in the third quarter, and again when Belichick chose to kick a field goal from the 7-yard line while down two scores with eight minutes left.
But debating Jones’ performance on Saturday doesn’t have to be a black-and-white argument.
Did he play like a rookie? Absolutely. Did he open more questions about whether or not he’s decisive enough, talented enough and instinctive enough to quarterback a good team from behind? Sure did. He even threw a couple passes over the middle that resulted in a pair of his receivers, Harry and Nelson Agholor, taking dangerous hits.
It’s OK to admit that Jones played like a rookie. It doesn’t take away from the fact that he bounced back in the fourth quarter and made some better throws.
Both sides of the argument can be true.
It’ll be easy to forget if Jones continues to improve and plays better against the Bills on Sunday.
Otherwise, the diagnosis will be the same: rookie pains.
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