Patriots QB Mac Jones: Bye Week ‘Full Audit’

Jones and the Patriots host the New York Jets for a pivotal Week 11 matchup at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

FOXBORO — While most people use a brief respite from work to rest, regroup and possibly recuperate, New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones was doing a great deal of self/evaluation.

The Patriots second-year signal caller has largely underperformed in 2022, having completed 111 passes for 1140 yards, with four touchdowns and seven interceptions. Though missing three games due to a high-ankle sprain has undoubtedly contributed to his regression, it is clear that the Alabama product has looked uncomfortable and even confused in New England’s ‘new-look’ offense.

Accordingly, Jones used the team’s bye week as an opportunity to identify his deficiencies and work to make the necessary corrections … a process he referred to as a “full audit.”

“I think a lot of us are working on different things every day and the bye week is a great time to do that,” Jones told reporters on Wednesday. “So for me, just making sure my feet and eyes are in the right place, continue to go through my reads, continue to improve in the weight room, nutrition, all that stuff. So it's a full audit of yourself, I guess you can call it. Kind of look at yourself and see what you can do better.”

In contrast to his statistically stellar rookie season, Jones ranks near the bottom of the NFL in several passing metrics in 2022; including expected points added per play (30th), adjusted yards-ever-attempt (36th) and QBR (29th.) Though the 24-year-old has had some solid moments in evading pressure, the Patriots play-calling brain trust (including offensive play-caller Matt Patricia and quarterbacks coach Joe Judge) continues to dial-up deep verticals, which Jones has executed with mixed results. Overall, it has led to subpar results for much of the season.

Jones’ troubles seem to stem from fixating on his initial reads, as opposed to seeing the entire field. His incompletions are often the result of continuing to force the ball to the target he has identified before the snap. When unavailable, he often holds on to the ball too long, or is left with no choice but to throw it away. While his lack of time in the pocket due to a struggling offensive line should shoulder much of the blame, Jones must make the adjustments which he identified during his “audit” to correct the problem.

“A lot of those things are personal to me and things that I want to keep to myself,” Jones added. “But, there are a lot of things that I can improve … footwork, timing, eyes, all that stuff. I’m trying to improve that every week regardless and definitely put an extra emphasis on it. I feel good about the progress … just got to apply it.”

Jones will attempt to put his preparations into action when he gets his second look of the season at the New York Jets on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. In the first meeting between the two teams (a 22-17 Pats victory in Week 8), the Alabama product completed 24 of 35 passes for 194 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Though his stat line was neither impressive nor catastrophic, Jones was under constant duress. The pressure applied by the Jets defensive front led to his being sacked six times. He also had problems protecting the ball, with one hit causing an interception while another led to a strip sack. Jones’ second ‘would-be’ interception to Jets’ defensive back Michael Carter, was nullified due to a penalty. Still, it served as a reminder that the Jets front has the ability to impact the game if New England's offensive line does not provide their quarterback with adequate protection.

Despite the need for improvement on many fronts, Jones is cognizant that his evolution as a quarterback depends on his ability to conquer an opponent, which is familiar with his strengths and weaknesses. As such, he acknowledges that the Jets defense will provide quite the formidable test.

“There's not many weaknesses with this [Jets] defense,” Jones declared. “They have a good front, and they rotate those guys. Everything starts with the front.. Even though we’ve played them already, they can still come out and do different things and we can too. That's football and that's the cool part about the NFL. When you play somebody twice it's just a chance to go out there and compete, follow your rules and stick to your training.”

Kickoff between the Pats and Jets is set for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 20 from Gillette Stadium. 

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Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots

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