QB corner: For Mac Jones, the boos raining down at Gillette tell the story

FOXBOROUGH – Coming off arguably his worst game as a pro, all eyes were on Mac Jones to see how he would respond.

With the Patriots sitting at 1-3, and Jones still not convincing anyone he was capable of leading the team into the future, the pressure was squarely on the Patriots third-year quarterback to deliver against the New Orleans Saints.

Would Bill Belichick be forced to yank him again, as he did last week in Dallas, or would he rebound from that forgettable three-turnover outing, and play well enough to secure a much-needed win?

“If it goes from bad to worse, you’re not going to be around very long,” Belichick said Friday, when asked about Jones’ job status. “We all get knocked down. You’ve gotta get up and go back in the ring.”

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Jones was certainly back in the ring, with all of the implications Belichick conveyed as a backdrop.

Having Jones bounce back would have kept the critics at bay for another week. A poor outing would ratchet up the noise and leave the Patriots hanging on by a thread.

Which way did it go? Not the good way.

This outing was no better than Dallas, only this was against a lesser opponent. It was another three-turnover dud, with the Patriots getting mowed down 34-0 by the Saints.

The boo-birds were out early and often for Jones.

It got so bad, the offense was booed coming onto the field in the third quarter. Jones was benched again in favor of Bailey Zappe, but the game was beyond over at that point.

Here’s the rundown:

The first two series pretty much told the story. On the first, after an encouraging eight-yard gain on the ground by Rhamondre Stevenson, Jones dropped back to pass twice, and airmailed both throws.

The second series?

On a third-and-six, the pocket collapsed. Jones was hit as he threw the ball. Pick-six by Tyrann Matthieu. It didn’t get much better after that.

Given the stakes, given the background, this couldn’t have gone much worse for Jones, who once again looked spooked in the pocket.

His confidence is clearly shot. His first half numbers weren’t encouraging, completing eight-of-passes for 72 yards with the interception. He was sacked twice, both of those coming on the final drive before the half.

Some of this, of course, is not his fault. The Patriots don’t have adequate blocking up front. The sacks came with both tackles – Vederian Lowe and Trent Brown – getting beat. Jones also doesn’t have receivers who get open against good man coverage defenses, like the Saints.

Add it all up, and you get a quarterback who continues to regress, and continues to get booed at home.

The Patriots trailed 21-0 at halftime and never recovered.

Even the first series of the third quarter proved a disaster. On a 3rd-and-1, Jones looked like he was going to sneak but backed away from the line after the snap, and threw an errant toss to Rhamondre Stevenson.

Cameron Jordan recovered the loose ball, as Stevenson couldn’t pull it in. It was ruled a fumble by Jones, his second turnover of the game. It led to a Saints field goal.

Third-and-short has been a killer for them all year. The Patriots converted just 1-of-7 on third down in the first half. It didn’t get much better in the second half.

Things got so bad, Jones threw yet another pick – this coming in the third quarter – that really wasn’t his fault. He hit Ty Montgomery with a pass off play action, only Montgomery couldn’t quite hold on with the ball richocheting up into the awaiting hands of Saints linebacker Peter Werner.

Like last week against the Cowboys, it was another three-turnover day for Jones. And like last week, Bailey Zappe came on in relief, this time in the fourth quarter with the Pats down 31-0.

Jones’ final stat line read: 12 for 22 for 110 yards, two interceptions, one fumble.

Zappe got warm applause, but he didn’t do much better in the few series he played.

So the issues at quarterback, and the issues overall, didn’t go away. Of course, the problem runs deeper than quarterback. But Jones is currently in the crossfire because he’s not the answer now, and it sure doesn’t seem like in the future.

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