The relationship between Mac Jones and Bill Belichick can’t be in a great place following weeks of on-field insubordination, says NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran.
On “Gresh & Keefe” Tuesday, Curran said he thinks Jones’ hysterical behavior in the Patriots’ stunning 30-24 loss Sunday to the Raiders may have caused irreparable damage to the young quarterback’s rapport with Belichick.
Tom Curran on Belichick and Mac Jones
“What Mac is doing right now is really eroding Bill’s trust for him, I think,” said Curran. “Bill lives on a chain of command, respect for authority. That’s a cardinal rule for him. What Mac is doing now is eroding the trust that Mac won’t go up the backstairs, even symbolically. Because Robert Kraft can’t watch the gesticulations and histrionics on the field, and see what happened on 1st-and-goal from the 2 the other day, and not go to Mac at some point and say, ‘So what’s going on here?’ In that conversation, whether he says it or not, Bill Belichick will perceive that Mac is either showing up him, his decision or everything Bill is all about. That’s what Mac has set up with his histrionics and the notion that ‘we have to take more control of this offense.’ He’s making an enemy out of Bill Belichick.”
Jones was seemingly unhinged at times Sunday, especially during a failed goal-line sequence at the start of the second quarter. The Patriots burned two timeouts because they couldn’t get organized prior to the snap, leading to multiple outbursts from Jones.
Jones was spotted dropping f-bombs on the field in the previous two prime-time games as well.
But Curran says he thinks what happened Sunday was the worst. The whole team fell apart, as evidenced by Jakobi Meyers’ horrible game-losing lateral.
“I think Sunday was a bridge too far,” said Curran. “If you look at what Rhamondre Stevenson and Jakobi Meyers did at the end of the game: desperation, no fear of what the reprisals would be if they continued with that play. I’m not saying they went in the huddle and said, ‘Let’s whip it around for a while.’ But I think if there’s a fear of authority that existed for Jakobi Meyers in 2021 or 2020 in the same way in 2022, you wouldn’t have seen that. There’s an erosion of the ‘Bill knows what’s best. I don’t want to piss Bill off’ that Mac has been, I think, behind.”
While the Patriots have been teetering all season, Sunday may have been a breaking point.
“When you see players acting the way Mac did down at 1st-and-goal, and Bill hasn’t checked it, I think this is the week in which he checks it,” said Curran. “I think some of the post-game commentary — ‘Yeah, we don’t got the arm for that’ — to throw it in the end zone from 55 yards away? That’s absolutely a shot across the bow. I don’t care what Bill says. He understands that is a soft spot for Mac Jones, and he went at it.”