The New England Patriots’s offense has plenty of room for improvement.
After registering 242 yards in Sunday’s 24-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots rank 24th in total yards. They’ve only scored a touchdown on 37.5 percent of their red-zone visits, the NFL’s second-worst clip after the Denver Broncos.
During Thursday’s press conference (h/t Pro Football Talk), a reporter asked Mac Jones if they have time to fix their offense over the season’s final five games. The second-year quarterback still believes his group can turn the corner.
“I think we all know that as players we can play a lot better, execute better, do all the things better,” Jones said. “You have the things you want to get better at and the plan to fix them or get better at them. It’s a constant grind and battle with it. A lot of it’s fundamentals. You’ve got to finish strong. We’ve got the guys to do it, we’ve got the coaches to do it, and it starts with this week.”
He talked about the need to “stack plays together” and execute without worrying about the result.
Following an encouraging rookie season, Jones has tallied seven touchdowns and seven interceptions in nine games. However, he’s completed 70.5 percent of his passes over the last four games without throwing a pick.
Jones appeared to show some frustration last weekend when yelling to call more throwing plays on the sideline. Yet he averaged just 5.4 yards per pass in Week 13.
Perhaps the 24-year-old agrees with Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who said New England’s conservative playcalling is “like a defensive guy calling offense.”
Jones will hope to reignite New England’s offense when facing Arizona on Monday Night Football.