Mac Jones had a massive performance against Bills

BOSTON -- Sunday's win over the Bills was a full-team performance from the Patriots. The defense, while not perfect, made plays. Special teams had its best performance of the year. A number of offensive players stepped up with impactful performances.

But let's be honest. Football often comes down to the quarterback. And on Sunday, the Patriots got some remarkable contributions from Mac Jones.

The oft-criticized quarterback had arguably the strongest showing of his career, completing 25 of his 30 passes for 272 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Patriots fell behind for the first time with 1:58 left in the game, needing a field goal to tie or a touchdown to win. Jones was exceptional on the ensuing drive, completing seven of his eight passes for 69 yards and the game-winning touchdown with 12 seconds left. (Jones actually completed another pass for six yards on that drive, but the Patriots opted to take the pass interference penalty on that play instead of declining it.)

"He just did a great job in crunch time," said Mike Gesicki, who caught the game-winning touchdown. "In the biggest moments of the game when our best was needed, he delivered."

Jones stood in against pressure on a third-and-8 on that drive, perfectly lofting a pass to Hunter Henry for a gain of 14 yards. And though he missed Demario Douglas on first-and-goal from the 1-yard line, he certainly didn't miss Gesicki on the next snap.

Jones entered the game with five touchdowns and seven interceptions, with three of those picks (plus another fumble) being returned for touchdowns by opposing defenses. The third-year quarterback was certainly under adverse circumstances, but he was still seemingly losing a firm grasp of his job in New England.

One week won't change all of that, but with Jones authoring just the second fourth-quarter comeback and second game-winning drive of his career, the story can certainly shift with a performance like this.

That performance should be instructive to the Patriots' coaching staff, as it showed that Jones can be an effective quarterback when his offensive line performs at an acceptable level. The versatile Mike Onwenu stepped in at right tackle, which has been a catastrophic position for the Patriots all season long, and immediately stabilized the line. Cole Strange's return at left guard was significant, and Sidy Sow seemingly leapfrogged the struggling Atonio Mafi at the other guard spot.

That line helped spark a functional ground game -- Ezekiel Elliott, Rhamondre Stevenson and Demario Douglas combined for 85 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries -- while also keeping a relatively clean pocket for Jones. 

The quarterback did err by losing track of pass rusher Leonard Floyd, who strip-sacked Jones to temporarily push New England out of field-goal range early in the fourth quarter. But Onwenu did recover that fumble, and it ended up being negated by a defensive penalty anyway.

That play notwithstanding, Jones took care of the football. He and the Patriots are now 2-0 when he doesn't commit a turnover.

"This season, we've seen him take on a lot. He's always put the blame on himself. He's always been the one to take ownership of -- things that weren't even his fault, he still took ownership of. And to see him every day from Week 1 until now, and at practice, still being the same person, still having that drive, still rallying guys around him," captain Deatrich Wise said. "It was when pretty much his preparation and the opportunity finally met. And he had a tremendous game."

Jones has clearly been through the wringer this year, and his teammates have noticed.

"I don't think a lot of the talk and stuff that happens with him is fair, honestly," Gesicki said. "I think he's done an unbelievable job of kind of blocking all of that out, and I think he's done an unbelievable job internally of leading us throughout all that adversity. And today, back against the wall, and when you hear all the talk about us having a chance to win the game and we can't close and all that kind of stuff. And today we had a chance, and he stood in there and delivered play after play after play. And ultimately we won the game off of -- several great plays -- but ultimately off of a great ball by him."

Jones, too, has certainly understood his situation, and he admitted that he's looking to make people believe in him when he's out on the field. Yet he hasn't lost belief in himself.

"I always believe in myself. I have a lot of confidence in myself and I'm not going to sit up here and say it every time, but I do believe in myself and I do that through work and all that stuff," Jones said. "And that's why football is the greatest team sport. It's the quarterback -- you know, you go as your quarterback goes. So for me, just continuing to be the same guy every day and just be Mac."

Despite riding the high of the win, Jones still stated the obvious.

"It's just a crumb," Jones said. "And just keep picking up those crumbs, and eventually you have a whole loaf of bread. So that's my goal. Just continue to work, continue to be Mac, like I said, and it's just one game, right? I always say that, regardless of the result. Gotta do it again, gotta fight every day and practice hard."

It was just one game, and it doesn't erase everything that has happened this season prior to Week 7. Yet for a quarterback fighting for his spot in the league as a starting quarterback, it at least felt like a significant step toward reestablishing himself. And from a team perspective, the entire roster can now know that offensive operation can be more than functional when Jones is simply given a chance.