The Patriots tried to take the first game of the preseason seriously, but it didn't do them much good. If anything, Friday night's action saw Mac Jones and the offense looking worse coming out of it than they did coming in.
Four drives for the first-team offense against the Raiders' backups yielded just three points, an injury to backup running back Ty Montgomery, and one turnover -- an interception by Mac Jones.
Friday's first drive went the two the first two against the Panthers did last week: three and out. After a quick slant to DeVante Parker on the first play from scrimmage and yet another blown-up outside zone run that went nowhere, Jones wandered into a sack on third down, drifting out of the pocket rather than stepping up into it -- an uncharacteristic mistake from the usually heady quarterback.
The second drive offered some promise as the offense resorted to running between the tackles rather than around the edge, which brought immediate success. But the possession stalled after Jones through a brutal interception to Lukas Masterson on a pass over the middle intended for Kendrick Bourne.
Jones did a good job buying time and resetting his feet in the pocket but seemingly didn't see the Raiders linebacker right in the throwing window.
Following another three-and-out drive, Jones and the offense came to life in Drive No. 4 thanks to first-down tosses to Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, and Hunter Henry that got them into the red zone.
Then, it looked like Jones and Parker had hooked up on a back-shoulder throw for a touchdown, but officials called offensive pass interference on Parker for pushing off his defender. On the third-and-long, Jones once again bailed on a workable pocket and had to throw the ball away to set up a field goal.
Those three points were all Jones and the top-line offense could muster, bringing their total in the preseason to just 10 overall in seven drives.
Whether it's because of the new offensive scheme, poor protection, or just bad luck, Jones looks more like a rookie now than he arguably ever did in 2021.
The Patriots might have figured out some things with their run game in the short term -- TL;DR: running up the middle works, running outside doesn't -- but Jones has to get his own game back on the right track if this offense is going to go anywhere.
