As New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones heads into Week 12, he’s approaching Sunday’s game down at MetLife Stadium the same way he has for the previous 10.
He’s back at work, preparing for what he likely is hoping will be a shot at redemption this weekend.
Jones, who is an extremely routine-oriented guy, was asked by reporters on Wednesday about whether or not he’s starting against the Giants and it sounds like he hasn’t been given a reason yet to believe that won’t happen.
“Hope so. I mean, that’s the plan,” said Jones. “I think I always work really hard for that, really put a lot of attention and detail into the week, like I talked about.”
Jones is coming off a tough performance back in Germany where the offense mustered just six points in a frustrating first half of play that saw him get sacked five times.
After making adjustments in the second half, the offense got moving but couldn’t finish, largely due to some poor play and decision-making.
His tough moments began even before the play that got him pulled, with Jones missing a throw to Hunter Henry that was nearly picked, forcing them to settle for a field goal. That one led to some groans by the fans in Germany, along with a shocked reaction from Robert Kraft after Jones both missed a scoring opportunity and barely avoided disaster.
However, on his next trip down the field, he wasn’t so lucky.
New England’s next opportunity in the red zone ended up in disaster. Tight end Mike Gesicki slipped behind the coverage and was open in the end zone for a sure touchdown, but Jones badly underthrew him after falling back as he felt pressure.
After the ball left his hands, it floated in the air and fell well short as Colts safety Julian Blackmon came up with the interception.
That mistake ended his outing, with Bailey Zappe coming in on the next drive as New England was down by four with just under two minutes to go.
Unfortunately, Zappe made his own mistake, seemingly assuming a penalty where there wasn’t one as he threw the ball into triple coverage for a game-ending interception.
Still, the belief is that it would be a surprise to see Jones out there. Belichick told reporters Tuesday that “everybody needs to be ready to go,” which alluded to the fact a change is coming.
For now, Jones certainly didn’t appear like someone who was told that opportunity was off the table, so he’s continuing to work hard hoping he’ll be back under center this weekend.
” A lot of that decision-making is things I can’t control, but I can control my attitude and my effort like I talked about,” said Jones. “And I’m really thankful overall to be in the NFL and be playing quarterback on Thanksgiving. It’s a great week to be grateful for a lot of things, and to play this game, the game that we love, together, I think that means a lot to me regardless of the situation.”
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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.
