The good feelings that came with last week’s win over the Buffalo Bills were nowhere to be found for the New England Patriots Sunday afternoon.
Mac Jones and Co. opened up a 7-0 lead over the Miami Dolphins before falling by the score of 31-17.
Jones threw yet another interception as his struggles continued this season. It resulted in a Dolphins field goal late in the second quarter to turn a one-score deficit into a 17-7 game. New England’s defense would go on to yield two second-half touchdowns en route to losing for the sixth time in eight games this season.
Following the game, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick would not commit to Jones as his starter moving forward for the 2-6 team.
When asked whether Jones was QB1, Belichick offered this on-brand response. “We all need to play better. We all just need to coach and play better,” the head coach told reporters, via the New England Patriots’ official website.
Mac Jones stats (2023): 67% completion, 1,641 yards, 9 TD, 8 INT, 82.6 QB rating
New England entered Week 8 ranked 31st in the NFL in scoring at 14.4 points per game. It didn’t do much better against a Dolphins defense that has been vulnerable throughout the 2023 season.
As for Jones and the Patriots’ quarterback situation, the the team has Bailey Zappe and veteran Will Grier on its 53-man roster. New England also brought back undrafted rookie free agent Malik Cunningham to the practice squad last week after waiving the youngster.
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There really is no good answer for a team that’s going nowhere fast this season. New England might as well stick with Jones and see if he can turn it around given the investment it has made in the former first-round pick out of Alabama.