New England Patriots
“Mac Jones isn’t being the substitute teacher. It’s not a lightweight workload. He leads the NFL in pass attempts with backups and [is] getting banged around.”
Mac Jones impressed the football world after putting up an impressive game-winning drive in an overtime win for the San Francisco 49ers against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football.
The former Patriots first-round draft pick has led the 4-1 Niners to three victories this season as the injured Brock Purdy’s backup quarterback on the West Coast. His latest was a 26-23 OT win in which he completed 67.3 percent of his passes (33-for-49) for 342 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. One of those TDs found the hands of a fellow ex-New England offensive player in wide receiver Kendrick Bourne.
Jones’s latest performance, in which he posted a 100.9 QB rating, dazzled “The Herd” host Colin Cowherd during his Friday show.
“Mac Jones isn’t being the substitute teacher. It’s not a lightweight workload,” Cowherd said. “He leads the NFL in pass attempts with backups and [is] getting banged around. This isn’t the substitute teacher that comes in and you watch a movie in class in fifth grade. Like, this is a real assignment. (San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan) is forcing Mac Jones to lead the offense.”
“My jaw was on the floor with this thing,” Cowherd continued. “What Mac was doing, often deep in (Rams) territory with no big run game … that was a big boy assignment.”
Jones started 42 games for New England in three seasons before he was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in March 2024 following head coach Bill Belichick’s departure and Jerod Mayo’s hiring.
His rookie year in 2021 was his best as a Patriot. Jones threw for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns with 13 picks, completing 67.6 percent of his passes. He placed second in NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting behind the Cincinnati Bengals’ WR Ja’Marr Chase.
After 2021, his play gradually dipped and was even benched for backup Bailey Zappe at points throughout 2022 and 2023. Jones went through three offensive coordinators in as many seasons with the Patriots, and that lack of consistency at OC showed during those final two years.
Jones started seven games and appeared in 10 total for the Jaguars in 2024 as Trevor Lawrence’s backup, but he didn’t post eye-opening stats during that single-season stint with his hometown team. Jones signed with the 49ers on March 12 of this year after electing free agency, and apparently, the rest is history.
“He clearly wasn’t washed. Maybe he just had to wash the Patriot stink off him, because he was great last night,” Cowherd said. “In passing yards per game, San Francisco now, between Purdy and Mac Jones, has two of the top three in the league. And it just shows you the power of these great offensive coaches. They did a couple of shots of (Los Angeles head coach Sean) McVay on the sideline — he looked stunned.”
Cowherd believes Purdy is a better QB than Jones, but only by a smidge, he explained.
“I think Brock Purdy is better by that much,” Cowherd said, showing a small amount of space between his pointer finger and thumb. “Brock Purdy moves better. I think Mac, arguably, has more velocity on his ball.”
The 49ers don’t play again until Oct. 12 versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but Jones could see his fourth start of the season in that matchup. Purdy is experiencing a setback with his turf toe recovery and could miss that Week 6 game, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
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