Mac Jones sidesteps his growing reputation as a "dirty player"

FOXBORO -- There's a growing narrative around the NFL that Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is a bit of a dirty player. Jones had very little to say on the matter during his Wednesday afternoon press conference.

Jones is under fire for going low on Bengals defensive back Eli Apple during last Saturday's loss, going for Apple's feet as Cincinnati returned a fumble. (The fumble was later overturned). Jones was not flagged on the play, but it earned him a $11,139 fine from the league earlier this week.

Apple had some strong words for the quarterback when asked about the play.

"He tripped me," said Apple. "I thought it was a dirty play. He's done that before, I've seen it."

Jones said earlier this week that he wasn't trying to hurt Apple and wanted to slow him down so he couldn't make a block. He chalked it up as part of the game. 

But this isn't an isolated incident with Jones. There were a few high slides by the quarterback during a Monday night loss to the Bears earlier this season. He also came under fire during his rookie season when he grabbed the ankle of Panthers defensive end Brian Burns, who had just forced the QB to fumble. Burns said that he felt like Jones was trying to hurt him, and wished other defensive ends "happy hunting" on the quarterback.

What does Jones think about his reputation as a "dirty" player? On Wednesday, he shrugged off this growing perception as outside noise, and said his focus is on New England's Week 17 matchup with the Miami Dolphins.

"I think obviously that's a big part of it, is everybody has an opinion and the biggest thing for me is focusing on being the best teammate I can be and earning the respect of the people in this building and the people I care about. Obviously, I have respect for everybody around the league," Jones said Wednesday. "It takes a lot to get to this league. There's really good players out there, and we're all playing hard and trying to win. At the end of the day, you have to keep that in mind. It's a game and you want to just have fun, enjoy it and compete against each other. That's something that I've always done and I know my teammates appreciate that about me.

"So, I', excited about the opportunity this week. Obviously, a great team we get to go against. Another opportunity -- you don't know how many more you're going to get with this group of guys," Jones added, changing the subject. "That's what it's all about, is the players in our locker room and on our team. Excited, great day of practice today and obviously need to build on it and stack up these days."

Asked if he planned on to appeal his fine, Jones again shifted focus to Sunday's game.

"Really just focused on this week and let everybody else handle that stuff for me. I'm focused on this week and doing my job," he said. "That's the important part, is every week you look at the game film of the game you just played and then you try to find out what you can do better. I'm kind of in that process right now of what can I do better and how can I execute my job better."

Sunday is certainly a big game for the Patriots, as they need to beat the 8-7 Dolphins to stay alive in the playoff hunt. The 7-8 Patriots need to win out to clinch the final Wild Card spot in the AFC.