Monday night was supposed to be a duel between two second-year quarterbacks Mac Jones and Justin Fields — almost the complete antithesis of one another in play style and profile — still working toward the same goal: convincing their franchises that they’re “the guy” to end their teams' respective Super Bowl droughts.
(It still might be, depending on whether the Patriots will allow a slightly less-than-100-percent Jones to play through an ankle injury against the Bears in primetime.)
But rather than a clean story about both ascending heading into the matchup or even one succeeding while the other fails, both their situations look quite a bit bleaker than they did before the season began.
Jones, a bona fide Rookie of the Year candidate and No. 15 pick from last year, threw five interceptions in three games as the Patriots handed him the keys to a retooling offense only to get hurt and watch fourth-round rookie Bailey Zappe steal the thunder.
And Fields, 2021's 11th-overall pick? He plays for the Chicago Bears, so take your pick of things wrong with his experience: a rancid offense line, having Darnell Mooney and a bunch of fringe roster players to throw to and his own struggles to adapt to the NFL.
The thing is…none of their fellow second-year quarterbacks are exactly having banner years either. Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence started out strong but has cooled in recent weeks. Zach Wilson is mostly riding the wave in New York right now, barely topping 100 yards passing against the Packers last week on 18 attempts. Trey Lance is hurt. Davis Mills is just bad.
Just because Patrick Mahomes wrecked the curve a few years ago with his MVP campaign or Justin Herbert can roll out of bed and throw 30 touchdown passes in his sophomore year doesn’t mean learning how to play quarterback in the NFL isn’t a process.
This year is another example of how little patience people have for that process, though.
Jones had one of his best games as a pro against the Baltimore Ravens in spite of those three interceptions, showing off his improved arm and field-stretching ability.
But people only remember the mistakes and actually have the audacity to suggest Zappe is more talented, though the Patriots have clearly simplified the offense to a significant degree to help the rookie out in a way they weren’t doing for Jones.
Then, you’ve got reports/non-reports flying around about Jones’ supposed churlishness or souring relationship with the team behind the scenes poisoning the narrative against him even as he strives to return to the field and win back a fan base that has begun to turn on him.
Fields, meanwhile, just had the best half of his career two Sundays ago against the Vikings and nearly stole victory from the jaws of defeat against a superior opponent before his teammates let him down.
But now people only remember his relative clunker against Washington on Thursday night — the missed touchdown throw to a wide-open man, the interception thrown off a defender’s helmet and the trouble he ran himself into.
Quarterback development is not linear (unless you’re really bad or so good you break the scale). Even Tom Brady couldn’t break that trend; he tied for his career-high in interceptions in his second season as a starter.
We do, of course, need to see a leap taken at some point. The good news: some related quarterbacks, like Jones’ Alabama predecessors Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts (who is a solid comp for Fields), have shown off monster growth in their third seasons as they’ve seen their supporting casts improve. (What a concept, right?)
To that end, the Bears and Patriots currently lead the NFL in expected salary cap space heading into next season, suggesting big changes on the horizon that could build similarly improved situations around their young quarterbacks.
The bottom line: the journey is far from over for Jones or Fields, who should both be NFL quarterbacks for quite a while. In theory, both SHOULD get more time to prove themselves on their respective teams.
But with Zappe in the fold for New England and the Bears possibly being in range to net a top-five pick next draft, nothing is guaranteed for either one. Life in the NFL is cruel that way.
Still, halfway through their second seasons, given the circumstances they've found themselves in, is no time to cut bait. Not yet.