Mac Jones Leads the Patriots Back to the Playoffs

The New England Patriots find themselves back in the playoffs after missing them last season for the first time since 2008. On Sunday, Mac Jones completed 22-of-30 passes for 227 yards, three touchdowns and posted a passer rating of 128.1 as the Patriots routed the Jacksonville Jaguars 50-10. The former Alabama quarterback set a new Patriots single-season record for touchdown passes by a rookie with 21.

He also became the fourth rookie quarterback in NFL history with 10+ wins and 20+ passing touchdowns in a season, joining Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck.

His performance earned him some high praise from head coach Bill Belichick.

“Mac is super consistent,” Belichick said. “Every day is really the same day for Mac. He’s always well prepared. He’s in early. He’s ready to go. He knows what we’re going to be doing, and he’s already got a head start on it. He maximizes the information that the coaches give him, maximizes the walkthroughs, the practice reps, and learns from whatever happens in those situations. He’s smart. He’s a good learner, but he’s got good instincts and good mechanics. He’s just worked hard to get better every day. A lot of consistency and great work ethic and really pays attention to details and has just improved in every area throughout the course of the year. Continues to improve on a daily basis.

Jones threw two touchdown passes to second-year pro Kristian Wilkerson, who had played a total of seven offensive snaps in his career prior to Sunday matchup’s and a third one to Jakobi Meyers.

“I love playing with Mac and for Mac. He's a leader and takes command,” Wilkerson said.

Patriots visit the Miami Dolphins this Sunday in their regular season finale needing a win to keep their AFC East title hopes alive.

“I think in any sport you play, you want to get a chance to play for a championship and for a playoff spot,” Jones said. “We have a big game next week, and that’s what we’re going to focus on and finishing strong and all that, so we’ll focus on that and be where our feet are, and then when the next thing comes, we’ll have a plan and attack it.”