Mac Jones recorded the first of what likely will be the first of many come-from-behind wins Sunday afternoon against the Texans on the road.
The Patriots trailed 22-9 in the early stages of the third quarter, but were able to rally to come away with their second win of the season. Jones led the team 84 yards down the field in over seven minutes in the latter stages of the fourth quarter, ending with Nick Folk’s game-winning 21-yard field goal and a 25-22 Patriots win.
“We just outcompeted,” Jones said to reporters. “I don’t know if we outplayed the other team, but we definitely outcompeted. That’s all we can ask ourselves to do and there’s a lot of stuff I am going to watch on film and wish I had back, but sometimes you just have to find a way to win. It feels better to not play as well in a win, but learn at the same time than play OK and end up losing. The win feels good.”
The rookie finished 23-for-30 with 231 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The offense committed another turnover besides the pick and Jones knows that needs to be cleaned up.
“If you take away our turnovers, which one of them was obviously my fault and Damien’s was just a bang-bang play, I think we put a lot of emphasis on that and we didn’t do a good job of that," he said. "But, we still fought through that and just tried to put points on the board.”
The Patriots were also missing four starters along the offensive line and Jones gave the unit credit for playing well in the win.
“I think the offensive line did a great job and I think it all starts with them,” he said. “They were doubted all week and there’s this and that, and all the noise around that. They came out and they played really hard and they played together and I think I only got hit once all game (Houston was credited with four QB hits). Shout-out to those guys and they were a big reason why it happened.”
Now 2-3, the Patriots will host the Cowboys next Sunday.