In Unraveling 2023, New England Patriots’ Mac Jones Pieces It Together

The losing streak spanned seven turnovers, two benchings and no touchdowns.

But Sunday at Gillette Stadium, Mac Jones showed no signs of how the month of October had begun. There was a fast start. There was also 1:58 left to finish it in an AFC East game that his side led until moments prior.

Down three points, the New England Patriots quarterback did so. The drive spanned eight plays, 75 yards and ended in the end zone with 12 seconds left to tick. It marked the first win over the Buffalo Bills since his rookie year.

A 29-25 upset and a 2-5 reset. In an unraveling 2023, it all came together.

“Yeah, I think just keep fighting and, you know, it’s just a crumb, right? That’s what I always say,” Jones said during his postgame press conference. “And you’ve got to build off that. You’ve got to build off that and attack every day the same. It’s all about playing for each other, playing for the guy next to you and understanding why. So, we did that today and we need to continue to do that every day in practice and in the games.”

To cap off the fourth quarter in Foxborough, Jones completed 7-of-8 passes for 70 yards on New England’s final possession.

A catch-and-run screen of 34 yards down the right sideline by running back Rhamondre Stevenson opened it. A third-and-long conversion to Hunter Henry continued it. And at the goal line, a go-ahead stutter step up the seam by fellow tight end Mike Gesicki closed it.

“Mac’s our leader,” Stevenson told reporters afterward. “He did a great job just keeping everybody poised and ready to go get some points on that drive and win the game like we did. I feel like everybody was just poised for a great job to get some points on the board.”

“Today, back against the wall, you hear all the talk about us with a chance to win the game and we can’t close and all that stuff,” Gesicki said Sunday. “And today, we had a chance, and he stood in there and delivered play after play after play. Ultimately, we won the game off several great plays, but ultimately off a great ball by him. So, I’m really happy for him and just excited for this to ultimately propel us forward.”

Buffalo entered the matinee having surrendered 14.8 points per game while tying for the NFL lead with 24 sacks. But Jones, standing behind a starting offensive line that had regained left guard Cole Strange and moved right guard Mike Onwenu out to right tackle, was taken down just once.

In his fourth career game with a completion rate above 80%, the embattled Alabama product under center finished 25-of-30 through the air for 272 yards and two touchdowns.

With the offense diversified in terms of personnel, play fakes and pre-snap motions, Jones found nine different teammates. His first scoring strike since September went to veteran wide receiver Kendrick Bourne on an afternoon that saw rookie Demario Douglas pace the team in scrimmage yards.

The Bills trailed by 12 points midway through the fourth quarter. What slipped away could have followed a familiar script. The Patriots hadn’t put together a game-winning, fourth-quarter comeback drive since a field goal sailed through the uprights in the fall of 2021.

But Jones, who is accompanied on the quarterback depth chart by Bailey Zappe, Will Grier and Malik Cunningham, had his fingerprints on it at last.

“I’ll always believe in myself,” the 25-year-old captain added. “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. That’s why football’s the greatest team sport. It’s the quarterback, you go as your quarterback goes. So for me, just continuing to be the same guy every day and just be Mac.”

The Miami Dolphins await next Sunday. Kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium is set for 1 p.m. ET.