When Justin Fields’ 61-yard touchdown run played on the Gillette Stadium Jumbotron last Sunday during a break in the Patriots-Colts snooze fest, an audible jolt of electricity went through the crowd that I’ve only heard for the likes of Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson’s craziest plays this year.
On one hand, it must’ve felt like deja vu watching Fields leave a safety in his dust on the way to the end zone the way he did to Adrian Phillips on 3rd-and-14 two Mondays ago. On the other, perhaps there was a nagging sense of..."Why can't we have that?"
Fields' team lost to the AFC East rival Dolphins, of course, but he might well have been the best player in the league last Sunday, throwing for three touchdowns and adding his highlight-reel run to the picture.
And to think his three-game heater started here in Foxborough on national TV at the Patriots’ expense.
What’s the point of bringing up that annoyingly painful memory, you ask? Because his breakout might hold a philosophical key to helping out the Patriots’ own franchise quarterback hopeful.
Huh?
But Mac Jones doesn’t have a cannon for a right arm, doesn’t run a 4.4 40 and can’t just walk away from defenders when they bother him, you note. The Patriots can’t just install designed runs and move the pocket to turn Jones from one of the worst quarterbacks in football into a supernova in a few weeks.
No, they can’t. But that’s not the point.
Zoom out for a moment and see the similarities between the two players' situations this season. Both had to learn new offenses in their second seasons, though Jones had far more success in his rookie season than Fields did. Neither has an elite supporting cast, though Jones’ is definitely better than Chicago’s on paper. Both have spent time this year looking like square pegs in round holes as their offensive coordinators tried to make them fit a scheme not truly built for them. Even though they each showed flashes of good play, it wasn’t consistent or sustainable.
Then the Bears flipped the script during their mini-bye a few weeks ago and stole plays from the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs to get their quarterback moving and better use the talent they did have at their skill positions. The result: Fields has now broken Michael Vick’s single-game rushing record while (more importantly) taking a massive leap in passing efficiency, throwing for six touchdowns versus just one pick and a 106.1 passer rating in his last three games.
Fields doesn’t have an elite team around him, as evidenced by the Bears’ defense surrendering 70 points in their last two contests, but it doesn’t matter. He’s outplaying his circumstances and looks like the man the Bears should build with in 2023, which is the only thing they truly care about.
But what the Bears have done goes beyond the pure Xs and Os of how they tapped into his unicorn skill set, which the Patriots obviously can’t duplicate.
Chicago put Fields in control. They allowed him to dictate the terms of the action, to attack his opponents, to be the hammer rather than the nail waiting for get bludgeoned behind an offensive line that couldn’t protect him.
The Patriots aren’t going to run quarterback sweeps for Mac Jones, but they can try to tailor an offense toward his superpowers — his (typically) ultra-fast processor and accurate passing — to get him going.
Even for as bad as Jones has looked at times, there have still been flashes in each of the past two games where the quick game out of shotgun has produced a few gems and had the Patriots’ offense looking like the best version of last year again.
If you want to get Jones operating faster and not getting stuck on reads too long, speed him up organically. More short routes (sticks, slants, crossers). More RPOs. More screens. Additionally, if you want to stretch the field, which the Patriots should still do selectively, give him short outlets in the middle of the field that he can get to fast when necessary.
Asking him to scan the intermediate and deep areas of the field behind a suddenly porous offensive line has not been a recipe for success and is leading to a regression in his play along with increased punishment in the pocket. What do they say about the definition of insanity?
The overly generalized fix: quit being stubborn and trying to force Jones to execute your “game plan” and make Jones himself the game plan. Give him the tools to set the tone and control the action when he’s been in the game. Let him attack in the way that’s working best for him right now. (What a concept, right?)
Mac Jones can’t play the way his 2021 first-round peers do, especially Fields, and his ceiling as a football player is a bit more limited as a result. Jones doesn’t have the pure talent and margin for error of Fields, who was able to flash in spite of inconsistent coaching and subpar talent until the Bears found a way to start mining his ridiculous potential.
But suggesting those limits mean Jones can’t lead an NFL team is demonstrably not true and shows a lack of vision.
All it takes is a coaching staff willing to and able to adapt, as Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy did, and reshape your offense in your quarterback’s vision rather than your own.
The Patriots, unfortunately, might not have that infrastructure with Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia. But the bye week represents a chance to prove that notion wrong and save their young quarterback in the process.