New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones still has confidence in the offense, despite the unit’s struggles.
Jones has thrown for 1,963 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions on the season. The quarterback has had an up-and-down year, as he has battled through injuries. The former Alabama star has been consistent since returning from a high ankle sprain he suffered earlier in the season. In his previous two games alone, he has thrown for three touchdowns with no interceptions.
New England’s offensive line has struggled a bit, giving up 32 sacks on the season. That is the 10th-most in the league, which is clearly a big problem for the unit.
Take for instance New England’s two contests against the New York Jets. The Jets were able to sack Jones 12 times over the two-game span. The Patriots are tied with Denver for last in the league in red zone touchdown percentage, per TeamRankings.com.
They hold a shockingly bad mark of 37.50%.
And yet, despite all of these issues, Jones remains confident in his offense to turn it around. However, finishing in the red zone is clearly something he wants to focus on more.
“I think we’ve just got to break the theme here and just keep working,” Jones said, via NESN’s Zack Cox. “That’s all you can do. Together, talk through things. At the end of the day, we’ve got to go out there and execute better. When you watch the film in those critical times and when we do that, we should be able to put the points up. … We’ve been able to move the ball, it’s just getting touchdowns is what we want.”
It will be intriguing to see what New England brings to the table for the game on Monday night against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Patriots offense is not fooling many, including Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who offered a blistering critique of the sputtering offense on Thursday. Even still, this matchup against the Cardinals could be an opportunity for the Patriots to finally get back on track.