Mac Jones’ extra blocking vs. Jets earns praise from Belichick originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Mac Jones went above and beyond his job description Sunday.
The New England Patriots rookie quarterback didn’t exactly light it up as a passer, completing 22 of 30 passes for 186 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. But Jones threw his body around on two separate occasions — once while helping push running back Damien Harris into the end zone, and again while throwing an effective cut block on a Kendrick Bourne end-around.
Jones clearly is willing to do whatever it takes to help the Patriots win — and Bill Belichick noticed.
While Belichick made sure to praise Jets quarterback Zach Wilson as well, the Patriots coach gave Jones a shout-out when asked about his rookie QB’s cut block.
“Wilson made a play (after throwing an) interception. So, those are both really competitive kids,” Belichick said after the Patriots’ 25-6 win at MetLife Stadium. “Like Mac’s competitiveness, and he brings a lot there.”
Jones’ teammates praised the Alabama product’s competitive fire during a preseason in which he beat out veteran Cam Newton for the starting QB job, so this type of play seems on-brand for him.
Jones insisted he was just doing his job on both plays.
Key takeaways from Pats’ Week 2 win over Zach Wilson, Jets
“Everybody was down there pushing, and my job is to make sure nothing bad happens and just be by the ball, and maybe I should just stay back,” Jones said with a laugh when asked about Harris’ touchdown run. “But at the end of the day, just trying get the touchdown.”
As for the Bourne end-around, the 23-year-old said the play design actually called for him to transform into a blocker.
“My job was to get the guy on the line of scrimmage,” Jones said. “That’s what I was supposed to do. And KB did a good job getting around the edge.”
The Patriots probably don’t want to make their new franchise QB a blocker on a regular basis, but fans have to be pleased with the new side of Jones’ game that he displayed Sunday in his first NFL win.