Can we take anything out of Mac Jones' performance against Jets?

BOSTON -- Mac Jones returned to his full workload for the Patriots on Sunday, and earned plenty of praise from head coach Bill Belichick after his efforts in New England's 22-17 win over the Jets. That praise continued Monday morning.

"I thought Mac did a nice job," Belichick said during his Zoom call with reporters. "We had pressure on quite a few pass plays, more than we would like, for sure. I thought he made good decisions and had to pull the ball down a couple of times and make some key runs for us. The Jets gave us some looks on the line of scrimmage that he had to deal with in the running game and I thought he handled those well. I thought he gave us a lot of good plays."

Belichick's praise for Jones should put any lingering thoughts of a QB controversy in New England to bed. This is Mac's team and the Patriots are going to do everything they can to boost the former first-round pick. That much is clear with Belichick going out of his way to praise the young passer.

But is there anything to take away from Jones' performance against the Jets?  It was a mixed bag of tricks and treats from the quarterback, and unfortunately for the Jones, there were more bad tricks than good treats. Through his five games this season, Jones hasn't looked comfortable in any of them. At least on Sunday, he did just enough to help the team win.

Jones was solid as a runner, picking up 25 yards on his four runs (not counting the three kneel downs he had in the victory formation at the end of the game). He had a great nine-yard scramble late in the first half to pick up a first down, leading to a New England field goal.

But the Patriots didn't draft Jones to scramble and run for his life. They drafted him to make throws, and the second-year QB continues to struggle in that department, especially when he heaves it downfield. 

Some of those struggles are the talent that Jones is playing with. He doesn't have a standout No. 1 at receiver, and his tight ends have barely factored into the passing game. DeVante Parker is his only true deep threat, and he left with an injury after just one snap on Sunday.

Jones completed 24 of his 35 passes for 194 yards, but his decision-making on those incompletions is once again the biggest concern with the 24-year-old. The pick-six that was called back because of a controversial roughing the passer on the Jets was one of Jones' worst decisions of the season. He had another pass directly to a Jets defender, which they dropped.

Jones admitted after the game that they were lucky that pick-six was called back, and said he needs to cut out those mistakes. That needs to happen soon, with his interception total already at seven in his five games.

Jones didn't look very comfortable in the pocket, mostly because the pocket was non-existent against New York's talented defense. The New England offensive line was down starting center David Andrews, leaving James Ferentz to take his place. Isaiah Wynn started on the bench but rotated in and out for Marcus Cannon at right tackle and then got some run in place of rookie Cole Strange at left guard. No matter who was out there, the line was a mess, leaving Jones under heavy pressure throughout the win. He was sacked a career-high six times by the Jets.

All that pressure played into Jones' bad throws. His lone interception (that counted, at least) came on a throw when Bryce Huff beat Marcus Cannon and hit Jones' arm as he threw. Clean pockets would go a long way toward Jones getting his rookie-season mojo back.

It's tough to really gauge anything from Sunday's game, given the issues along the offensive line. And when it came time for the offense to kill the clock, they were able to do that and leave New Jersey with a much-needed win.

But a lot of his own issues fall on Jones, too. It was a miscommunication with Jakobi Meyers that led to the pick-six that wasn't, and after that play, the Patriots pretty much took the ball out of Jones' hands in big moments, instead relying on the running game. It worked, but it would be great to see Jones get back to the level of last season.

As a rookie, Jones was lauded for being accurate with his throws and making the right decisions. He should be making a jump right now, but he's been sorely lacking in both departments throughout his sophomore campaign.

With a new offensive scheme, a patchwork offensive line, and a lack of playmakers around him, there are excuses built in for Jones and his struggles. But at some point soon, he needs to become the reason the offense works, and not the reason the offense falters.