'Bitterness ... Hater!': Cam Newton Attacks Patriots' Nemesis Rex Ryan For Mac Jones Criticism

Cam Newton stood up for Mac Jones, his successor as New England Patriots' quarterback, who was a peculiar target of old rival Rex Ryan.

Tom Brady may be retired, but Rex Ryan is still facing the wrath of New England Patriots quarterbacks. 

Ryan, the former head coach of the New York Jets and now an ESPN analyst, targeted current Foxborough passer Mac Jones on this week's morning program Get Up! Ryan criticized the third-year quarterback when discussing the Patriots' 25-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last weekend, despite him throwing for 315 yards and three touchdowns.

Jones and the Patriots (0-1) put up a valiant effort against a defending Super Bowl finalist but that wasn't enough to impress Ryan, who offered only a backhanded compliment. 

"Peashooter Jones looked good, I’ve got to give him total credit because you’re right, oh my God, that looked like a real offense, and he looked so much more confident,” Ryan said. “That’s what it’s all about. He had confidence. Now, look, we’re not showing two other balls that could have been picked in that game, I’m not putting him in the Hall of Fame, stop it, but they looked like they have a real offense.”

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Even with Ryan admitting that Jones showed noticeable improvement at the helm of the New England offense his comments didn't sit well with Cam Newton, the team's predecessor under center. Newton, the Patriots' first quarterback after the departure of Brady, tore into Ryan on his web series 4th & 1, claiming the former Jets' boss was still feeling raw about his residency on the wrong side of the New England-New York rivalry.

“Bro, you sound like a hater," Newton said of Ryan. “My dog Mac Jones, you feel me? Giving somebody a backhanded compliment,  what was it, like, ‘The Peashooter looked good?’ Come on bro.

"It’s early on in the season, so therefore, let’s have some grace. Now, granted, you know you took a couple L’s to New England, but you also gave them a couple L’s. So, it’s a little bitterness from you in your days back [at] the Jets. It’s just giving hater vibes, big dog."

Newton might have a point. Though Ryan's Jets famously got the best of the Patriots during the 2010 AFC Divisional playoffs, he posted a 5-12 record against New England while wearing the top headset of both the Jets (2009-14) and Buffalo Bills (2015-16). Though Newton's one-year term in New England was a struggle, he managed to keep the Patriots' streak of success against the Jets alive: entering the 2023 campaign, New England has earned 14 consecutive victories over Gang Green, a streak they'll look to keep alive when the modern editions do battle on Sept. 24 and Jan. 7.

In the meantime, Jones and the Patriots' next opportunity to impress Ryan comes on Sunday night when they open divisional play against the Miami Dolphins in prime time (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC).