The New England Patriots lost to the Las Vegas Raiders 17-21. Quarterback Mac Jones got sacked for a safety on New England’s last possession. He was 24/33 for 200 yards and one interception in their loss. New England falls to 1-5.
Jones has struggled this season, getting benched in Week 4 and 5. Jones is 129/201 for 1,208 yards, 64.2% completion percentage, 6.0 yards per attempt, five touchdowns, and seven interceptions through six games.
He hasn’t been the same since his rookie season when Josh McDaniels was the Offensive Coordinator. A good reason why he’s struggled is because he was one of the worst receiving corps in the NFL.
He had a solid rookie season with the New England Patriots
New England drafted Mac Jones 15th overall in the 2021 draft. He won the starting quarterback job over Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham, and Brian Hoyer. Jones led the Patriots to the Wild Card in his rookie season.
He was 352/521 for 3,801 yards, 67.6% completion percentage, 7.3 yards per attempt, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. Jones made the Pro Bowl and placed second in the Offensive Rookie of the Year vote.
His top three targets in his rookie season were Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, and Hunter Henry. Jakobi Meyers was their number-one receiver, with 83 receptions for 866 yards and two touchdowns. Kendrick Bourne was their number-two receiver, with 55 receptions for 800 yards and five touchdowns. Hunter Henry was their number-three receiver, with 50 receptions for 603 yards and nine touchdowns.
Mac took a step back in his second season
Josh McDaniels left to become the Head Coach for the Las Vegas Raiders. Former Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia took over for McDaniels in play-calling duties, and former Special Teams Coordinator Joe Judge served as the QB coach.
Jones took a step back in his second season because Matt Patricia did a terrible job calling plays. He suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 3’s loss to Baltimore and missed the next three games. He returned in Week 7 but got benched for poor play. He remained the starter for the rest of the season. He was 288/442 for 2,997 yards, 65.2% completion percentage, 6.8 yards per attempt, 14 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions with a 6-8 record as the starter.
Jones’ weapons took a step back in his second season. His top three targets were Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker, and Hunter Henry. Jakobi Meyers once again led the team with receiving, with 67 receptions for 804 yards and six touchdowns. Offseason acquisition DeVante Parker was second on the team, with 31 receptions for 539 yards and three touchdowns. Hunter Henry was third on the team, with 41 receptions for 509 yards and two touchdowns.
New England’s 2023 offseason
New England removed Matt Patricia from play-calling duties and Joe Judge from the QB coach position. They hired Bill O’Brien to be the Offensive Coordinator and QB coach.
Jakobi Meyers signed a 3-year, $33 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. New England replaced Jakobi Meyers with JuJu Smith-Schuster, who signed a 3-year, $25.5 million contract.
There are rumors that JuJu has a severe knee injury and that his knee might “explode.” JuJu denies the allegations that his knee might explode and believes his knee is fine.
What happens next?
New England has a decision to make this season, deciding whether he will remain the starting quarterback. They also have a decision to make in the offseason, deciding whether to exercise or decline his 5th-year option.
Bill Belichick has done a terrible job building offensive weapons around the struggling QB. New England doesn’t have a WR1 on their team and has one of the worst receiving corps in the league. Moving forward, New England should strip Bill Belichick of managing player personnel.
If New England decides to move on from Mac Jones, hopefully, a team will build talent around him better than Bill Belichick.