Mac Jones talks latest benching and his future as Patriots starter on WEEI

Patriots

“We just didn’t have the answers to the test yesterday.”

Patriots QB Mac Jones appeared on WEEI’s “Jones & Mego” show on Monday, touching on a variety of topics including his latest benching against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday and his future as the team’s starting quarterback. 

Here are a few highlights from Jones’ extended radio interview:

Another blowout loss

The 2023 Patriots hit a new low on Sunday.

Coming off of a 38-3 drubbing at the hands of the Cowboys in Week 4, the Patriots completely bottomed out against the Saints by way of a 34-0 blowout.

After coming up just short against two daunting teams in the Eagles and Dolphins in Weeks 1 and 2, New England has been non-competitive over its last two defeats.

The Patriots have not scored a touchdown in 10 straight quarters, with their last offensive touchdown coming off of Pharaoh Brown’s 58-yard score against the Jets in Week 3. New England has relinquished 69 unanswered points, and has only made one trek to the red zone in the last three games.

What was once expected to be a “get right” game against a pedestrian Saints team has only further validated that the 2023 season might already be lost for New England.

“The biggest thing is trying to figure out the root cause to each of the issues,” Jones said of New England’s defeat against the Saints. “That’s playing better as a team, that’s playing better for me as the quarterback. We just didn’t have the answers to the test yesterday. You just gotta move forward in this league. That’s what it is. You can’t look back, you’ve got to move forward. I’m not happy with anything. Nobody is, and it starts with me as the quarterback.”

Following their latest loss, the Patriots rank dead last in the NFL in points per game (11.0) and points per possession (0.87). Even during last year’s debacle with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, New England still ranked 17th in the NFL in points per game (21.4).

“You just want to find the root cause of why it’s not happening, and then from there you have to problem solve. Figure out,

‘Hey, what can we do better, what can I do better?’. Obviously it’s been a trend for a few years around here and it just has to be an improvement. That will really help us get off to a better start in the games.”

A future in New England? 

Based on Bill Belichick’s postgame comments on Sunday, it appears as though Jones will once again get the nod next Sunday when New England heads to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.

But with Bailey Zappe reportedly earning more practice reps this past week, Jones’ once-established spot at the top of the depth chart might be on shaky ground at this stage of the season. 

“We were off today,” Jones said when asked if he’s still the team’s starter moving forward. “So, obviously I’m going to focus on watching all the tape I can and really just looking forward to trying to come up with a game plan of what I can do better.

“That’s what I do every week and I’ve done that every week since I’ve been in the NFL. I know we haven’t done great on offense and there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding everything, but at the end of the day I have to go out there and focus on what I can control.”

Jones brushes aside Fox Sports report

In the wake of yet another benching for Jones on Sunday, one source close to the Patriots QB dropped a whopper of a quote to Fox Sports’ Henry McKenna.

“No matter how good of cook you are, you cannot make garbage taste good,” the source close to Jones told FOX Sports on Sunday. “Even if it was not Mac at QB, what QB would want to play here under these conditions?”

Asked about those comments on Monday, Jones said he did not see the report and pushed back against the assertion. 

“I didn’t see that. I don’t do social media,” Jones said. “I try to stay off and eliminate the noise. But I disagree with that. I think we have a really talented group of guys that I’ve been fortunate to work with this whole offseason and into the season. Some guys, for three or four years. I’ve been a part of a great organization. So, I definitely disagree with that.”