Patriots quarterback Mac Jones has been subject to a lot of scrutiny throughout the first three years of his NFL career. Michael McCorkle, as his birth certificate reads, was expected to be a seamless replacement for Tom Brady after being drafted No. 15 overall.
That has not quite been the case.
There have been a few moments in which Mac Jones has lived up to his billing. For the most part, though, there has been more bad than good.
The early portion of Sunday’s game was a mix of the two. Jones led New England to a 13-3 lead over Buffalo through two quarters and completed 14-of-17 passes for 145 yards through the first three quarters.
It was not the most impressive stat line ever, but considering how much worse it could be, it was a good afternoon for Jones! And, to his credit, it should have been 15-of-17.
Rookie wide receiver Demario ‘Pop’ Douglas was responsible for the weirdest incompletion of the game. Unfortunately, the miscommunication came on a crucial third down just before halftime.
Jones dropped back to pass and looked in the direction of Douglas. The sixth round pick out of Liberty created space from the defensive back over the middle of the field.
Had he sat still, or come in toward the ball, Douglas would have had a good chance of getting the first down. Instead, he cut toward the sideline right into tight coverage.
Jones was ready to throw and had to pull back. It resulted in a bizarre incompletion, which led the signal-caller to chew out his pass-catcher as they made their way off of the field.
Jones was not happy. He was right.
That doesn’t make it any less awkward! Especially considering that Douglas made a nice diving catch earlier in the afternoon. It wasn’t like he was playing poorly. He just made one bad cut in a costly spot.
Jones could have waited to talk to him on the sideline. Jones decided to let him have it on the field.