Mac Jones Embarrassed With How He Played Against Dolphins In Week 18
BOSTON (CBS) -- Visiting the Miami Dolphins continues to be a nightmare for the New England Patriots. And now Mac Jones is part of that mix.
The Patriots lost their regular season finale, 33-24, down in Miami. Jones finished strong, but his start left a lot to be desired.
After the New England defense gave up a 13-play, 77-yard scoring drive to open the game, the New England offense also gave the Dolphins some easy points. Jones was picked off on his first pass of the game, and Xavien Howard took the interception 37 yards to the house to give Miami an early 14-0 lead.
It was a terrible pass by Jones, who went looking for Jakobi Meyers, only to have Howard jump the route.
Xavien Howard PICK-6! What a start for the @MiamiDolphins #FinsUp
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It was Jones' 13th interception of his rookie campaign and fifth in the last four games.
The tough afternoon continued for Jones into the second half, as he fumbled a snap at the Miami 22 that was recovered by the Dolphins. Not ideal with your team trailing 24-10 in the third quarter, and the Dolphins added a field goal following the fumble.
Jones said both of those miscues were completely on him, and that he was embarrassed with how he played against the Dolphins.
"We just need to execute better and that starts with me," a frustrated Jones said after the loss. "Just in practice and in the game, you have to go out and do much better than we did today. It's super embarrassing from my point; how I played wasn't good enough. I can be better."
The Patriots did go on a pair of touchdown drives in the fourth, and Jones was 9-for-9 for 118 yards which included a pair of dimes to Hunter Henry and Jakobi Meyers and a touchdown pass to Brandon Bolden in the quarter. The rookie finished his day 20-for-30 for 261 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
But he knows that such a terrible start next weekend in his first playoff game, against whomever the Patriots play in the Wild Card round, will not be acceptable.
"My job is to make people around me have success. It starts with me," he said. "We'll get it fixed. You have to watch the film, learn from it and see how embarrassing it is to play that way. At the same time we have a great opportunity next week and that's all you can ask for."