Not too long ago, there was hope that Mac Jones was the New England Patriots’ new franchise quarterback and that they were on their way back to relevance soon after the departure of the legendary Tom Brady. In fact, there was talk prior to last season that Jones may end up being a dark-horse MVP candidate.
But neither prognostication has become a reality, and in fact, this season is turning into an outright disaster. They have a 1-4 record and have lost their last two games in embarrassing blowout fashion, falling 38-3 to the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 1 before getting blanked by the New Orleans Saints, 34-0, in Week 5.
A flock of flesh-eating birds is circling around the Patriots franchise right now. Head coach Bill Belichick said he will have to “start over,” and Jones has been playing poorly — he has six interceptions and five touchdown passes through five games, and he was benched at one point in Week 4.
It would be natural for one to blame a lion’s share of the blame for New England’s struggles on Jones. However, a source close to Jones pointed out another reason for the team’s horrible play: the lack of viable skill players around Jones.
“No matter how good of cook you are, you cannot make garbage taste good,” a source close to Jones told FOX Sports on Sunday after the game. “Even if it was not Mac at QB, what QB would want to play here under these conditions?”
Mac Jones has JuJu Smith-Schuster, who played well for the world champion Kansas City Chiefs last season, but has just 14 catches for 86 yards through five games, while Kendrick Bourne is the Patriots’ leading receiver with a modest 218 yards. Their rushing game has given Jones flimsy support, and their defense, which ranked 25th in points allowed at the end of Sunday, hasn’t exactly been helpful either.
There is a feeling now that perhaps Belichick isn’t quite the genius he was portrayed as for all the years he had Brady at his side, and there are even rumblings that his job may not be safe anymore.
It is a brave new world for the Patriots, and they are learning the reality of how hard it is to rebuild in the NFL.
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