Newton and Jones both ran with the Patriots’ starting offense Thursday night — in very different fashions.
FOXBORO — Whether or not Mac Jones wins the Patriots’ starting quarterback job in the coming weeks feels immaterial. Because someday, it will happen. Jones will catch the keys Bill Belichick tosses to him. He will drive the league’s once premier franchise into a new era. And when he does, the coaching staff will have customized the steering wheel grip, the dash and driver’s seat to Jones’ liking. They did it Thursday night. Over the middle quarters of the Pats’ preseason opener against Washington, Jones executed a distinctly different attack from the offense Cam Newton led during his two drives. This split system becomes possible once you understand the Patriots offense is one of the most diverse and malleable in the NFL. Tom Brady may have left, but the Pats are still plenty pliable. Their system is built on a foundation of problem-solving, the idea that any defense can be defeated by determining the correct pre-snap call and mid-play read; most of which are detailed in the pages of their playbook. The only limitations of this offense are the players force upon it. “He’s given me all the answers to the problems,” Jones said of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels last month. “So I just need to go out there and do it.” Every year, the players’ weaknesses become the offense’s weaknesses, and their strengths its strengths. As a sharp kid with a quick release, Jones is learning the Patriots’ playbook rapidly. He admitted as much last week, and Cam Newton hinted at it post-game. “That’s what I admire about him, being at such a young age, he knows how to prepare, and knows when Josh asks quick questions or when a person asks quick questions he knows how to have answers for it,” Newton said. Better yet, on Thursday night, Jones proved it, for all the football-watching world to see. He delivered a catchable ball on 79% of his passes, while firing at receivers whose average downfield depth was 7.
