Postgame Transcript – WK11 NYJ – Patriots QB Mac Jones

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

November 20, 2022

Q: Mac, on one hand obviously a super-efficient day for you, but on the other hand, you guys got into the red zone and couldn’t get into the end zone. How did you feel about your personal performance?

MJ: Yeah, I mean, we won the game. I think obviously we moved the ball pretty well today, so that’s a fact. We’ve got to be able to move it through that fringe area better, and we’ve got to watch the tape and see what we can do better, but I thought we stayed together as a unit, didn’t lose our cool and worked together to try to win. Obviously Marcus’ [Jones] return was the icing right there on the cake, but that’s a good football team in a tough environment. They played really well, and got to give credit to them, and happy that we won, and that’s a great divisional win. It’s a good start there to this little run we’re going to make here. Got to just watch the film and see where we can get better.

Q: Thoughts on Marcus Jones’ return and how much of a relief it was to not have to go into overtime and gut one out there and the atmosphere on the sideline and how that was for you guys?

MJ: Yeah, I think that was great. I think that shows why football is one of the greatest – it is the greatest team sport. It takes 60 minutes to win games in the NFL. You see that every week. Really proud of our team and offense, defense, special teams. I thought we came together, and at the end of the day in tough conditions like that you’ve just got to find a way to win. We did that, and that’s something to be proud of. We’re excited about this one, and like I said, we’ve got a quick turnaround, so going to be a lot of improvement to be made, and we know what we want to improve on, so we’ve just got to do it.

Q: You told us earlier this week you did a full self-audit and it was reported this morning that a lot of that audit was just about your timing of your drops and then syncing with the routes. If that’s true, how much was that improved today, and do you feel like it contributed to more of an efficient passing game?

MJ: Yeah, I think a little bit. Definitely improved on that. Talked about it. Any offense, timing, spacing, all that stuff, drop depth, everything. Definitely going to look at the film and see how it looks, but for the most part I felt like it was good, and like I said, tough conditions to play in, 20-, 25-mile-per-hour winds. So proud of the guys for catching the ball and doing all that stuff. The linemen did good. I think some of those sacks are coverage sacks, and it kind of is what it is. That’s football, right? You’re in long yardage, and they have good players on the defensive side of the football, and that team specifically with the defensive line. Did some good things. Definitely want to get through the fringe and score more touchdowns.

Q: I just wanted to ask you about some of the play action passes you guys were able to hit today for big plays and what you thought of those? And it seemed like you were trying to get the ball to the running backs on the check-downs maybe a little bit faster today and they were able to make some plays with it.

MJ: Yeah, I think play action pass is a good part of every offense, and you want to be able to get the linebackers to come up and the safeties and all that stuff. Definitely want to expand on that. Something we’ve done really well here in the past, and just try to do that and match it up with everything we’re doing. Like I said, there’s quick throws, medium, long, play action, RPOs, screens, all that stuff. You want to be able to do whatever you want, whenever you want. We want to be able to do that as an offense, and made some strides there today. And then in terms of getting the ball to the backs, I think that defense played more zone, like take away the deep stuff coverage. Going to have to watch the film and see it, but for the most part when they do that you have to take what the defense gives. If they give you the deep ball, take it. If they give you the short one, take it. That’s all there is to it. You can’t chase plays, can’t make up plays in your head. You’ve got to just operate the offense how it’s supposed to be operated.

Q: As you mentioned earlier you were able to move the football pretty well today, but kind of 30, 35 yards in, you struggled with execution. Is there a particular reason you can put your finger on as to why it’s been problematic executing in that area of the field?

MJ: Yeah, I think it’s super disappointing. We put too much work in to get that result. I think it starts with us, the execution part, and then obviously trying to figure something out here, just make it work and get through that, like you said, 35-, 40-yard line and just see if we can get through that and see what happens. Every time you’re moving the ball towards the goal line, it’s good. When you’re going backwards for whatever reason, it’s not. We want to be able to create those explosive plays, like the Damien [Harris] long run, for example, and then finish off those drives. We need to do that in the red zone. We need to do it in the open field. But it comes down to execution and watching the film and seeing what we can do better.

Q: It seemed like especially in the first half you and Jonnu Smith had a good connection going. What did you see from him today and what about that connection was working for you?

MJ: Yeah, Jonnu is a great player. He’s a great teammate. Does what he’s supposed to do on every player. Him and Hunter [Henry] do a great job. Really happy to have those guys. Want to be able to give them the ball as much as possible. I like throwing to those guys, so any way we can. Jonnu has got unique speed for a tight end and also unique strength for run blocking and things like that. Definitely want to use those guys as best we can, and he did a good job.

Q: You mentioned wanting to go on a run. How close do you feel the offense is to getting over this hump?

MJ: Yeah, I think it’s a game-by-game thing. I think today was us against the Jets and really us against ourselves. We want to do better. We want to obviously score more than three points. It’s not good enough. Got to look at it and see what we can do better. It’s kind of the same story here. We’ll figure it out, but it takes time and execution. That’s what it comes down to. Putting points on the board and not turning the ball over is important, which we didn’t do today, so that’s how we win games 95 percent if we don’t turn it over.

Q: Mac, you just got David Andrews back and now it looks like you might miss him for some time down the road. What kind of a loss would that be if that comes to pass?

MJ: Yeah, I think David is a great player, great teammate, great leader. Definitely tough, but I think James [Ferentz] does a great job when he’s in there. He’s a very smart football player, plays with a lot of effort. Obviously, you’re going to have to shuffle some guys around. We had some injuries again. But that’s football. Those guys are fighting every play, so that’s all you can ask for is their attitude and their effort, and I’m pleased with that group, and we just want to score more points and get through that fringe area, and the story might be a little bit different.

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