Coming off of Sunday’s loss down in Miami, there’s no question that the Patriots could use a win down in Pittsburgh to try and turn around their 0-1 start. However, it looks like they’re already facing a little bit of adversity.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, quarterback Mac Jones missed practice on Thursday due to an illness, which sets the club back one day in their preparations against the Steelers. The one positive is that Pelissero reports the illness isn’t COVID-related, but was instead a stomach issue that prevented Jones from being able to take the field.
Jones was listed as “limited” on the injury report on Wednesday but appeared to be O.K. based on the videos posted by various media members, so it seems like he was able to at least get in one day of work. Unfortunately, now it looks like Friday will become a little more crucial as the club gets set to head down to Pittsburgh on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s match-up.
The second-year QB is coming off of a rough outing on Sunday where he was hit multiple times, one of which resulted in a strip sack for a touchdown. The Steelers have already shown a knack through week one of getting to the quarterback after they sacked Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow 7 times while hitting him a staggering 11 times, as well as forcing four interceptions. Jones can likely expect the same tenacity when he faces that same defense this weekend, albeit without linebacker T.J. Watt, who suffered a pectoral injury during their victory.
As a result, every snap counts, and the fact Jones wasn’t able to take any on Thursday certainly presents yet another challenge for a team that’s looking to get right following a disappointing showing in their season opener.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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