The New England Patriots came up short in their season opener, and Mac Jones was more than willing to put the loss on himself.
Clearly, that only further endeared him to his teammates.
Jones played largely well in the 25-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. After a bumpy first quarter, he and the rest of the offense dug themselves out of 16-0 hole to make it competitive in the second half. The Patriots had chances in the red zone to take the lead late in the game while down five, but they couldn’t cash in.
Of all the self-critical comments Jones made after the game though, the 25-year-old saying “They gave me the ball twice to win the game, and I couldn’t do it,” was particularly pointed. New England tight end Hunter Henry responded to those comments with praise Tuesday on Gresh & Fauria.
“That’s why I love Mac, man,” Henry said. “He’s the ultimate competitor, he wants the ball in his hands. We weren’t able to execute, and I think that’s all of us. We’ve all got to be better. I’ve got to be better, I dropped a ball in a critical situation. Maybe run better routes, block a little better, whatever it is.
“I think it's all of us. That’s the competitor in us, especially when we lose a game that close when we had an opportunity to win it. We’ve all got to get better.”
Jones finished 35-of-54 in the air for 316 yards in the loss. He threw three touchdowns with one interception against the reigning NFC champions.