The biggest story surrounding Mac Jones over the past few weeks has been his loaded rant that showed his frustration with the team’s offense.
Jones was candid, albeit in a different way, after the New England Patriots’ practice Wednesday at the University of Arizona. Patriots captain Matthew Slater shared that Jones was asking the team to get a win over the Arizona Cardinals on Monday before Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
“Mac said this today: ‘We’re trying to keep our routine as close to normal as possible, whether it’s on the training ground, in the meeting room, in the recovery,'” Slater told reporters of Jones’ team. “We are not on vacation. It’s easy to fall into that when you’re away from home.”
Slater, who is in his 15th season in the league, and safety Devin McCourty, the second Patriots player to lose after Slater, noticed the second-year quarterback Has grown as a leader this season.
“I think he’s continuing to find his voice,” Slater said of Mack Jones. “I think one thing Devin and I do is encourage him to use his voice more. It’s hard sometimes when you have a guy like Devin, you feel like you have to put him down all the time, but I think Devin was really intentional about being like, ‘Hey, this is your team.’ You have to talk. You have to take ownership,’ and I think he did that. And it’s tough. I don’t care who you are, it’s going to be tough the second year.
“But he did a very good job of it. It’s great to see him continue to grow in this role. I know we’re looking to him for that leadership and he’s done a great job. “
“I think one thing Devin [McCourty] And I encourage her to use her voice more… She’s done a really good job of that.”
Matthew Slater credits Mack Jones with his growth as a leader #Patriots This season 👏 pic.twitter.com/fOnQEWkkhT
— NBC Sports Boston’s Patriots coverage (@NBCSPatriots) December 14, 2022
Mack Jones’ growth in leadership should certainly be a positive sign in what has been a difficult season for him and the Patriots offense. He completed 68.2 percent of his passes for 2,198 yards with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions, good for an 85.7 passer rating.
Jones’ game has shown some improvement in recent weeks, though. He’s thrown just one interception in his last five games, and in that stretch, he had a game in which he completed 85.2 percent of his passes and another game in which he threw for a career-high 382 yards.
But Jones’ ability to command the trust of his teammates is almost as important as his play on the field. And his message after Wednesday’s practice seemed to resonate with his teammates.
“I really love it,” Patriots linebacker Josh Uche said. “You definitely want a guy who cares about the game and takes it very seriously. He puts it all together, he carries it on his arm, and I can respect that.”
The Patriots will look to continue the momentum from Mack Jones’ performance and their win on Monday when they face the Raiders on Sunday, a crucial game for their playoff hopes. New England’s 7-6 and currently in last place in the AFC playoffs, so any slip up at this point in the season could be costly, and their quarterback certainly seems to know it.