Week 5: Most important game of Mac Jones’ career

Not many people expected the Patriots to be better than 1-3 after their first four games. People understood their schedule was very difficult out of the gate. However, the expectation was that the Patriots would be competitive and that their offense would be much better than last year.

Instead, the Patriots suffered their worst defeat in decades in Dallas last week. They were embarrassed. They were humiliated. The team gave up. Their team captain was benched. To add insult to injury, the defense lost its two best players, most likely for the rest of the season.

The Patriots’ defense was pretty much the only thing fans had to hang their hat on. They had been a top ten defense all year. They should have been. Bill Belichick has invested a lot of assets on that side of the ball to the detriment of the offense. And now that defense is decimated with injuries.

Ordinarily, a team like the New Orleans Saints coming to your home stadium would be the perfect antidote to the Patriots’ ills. But the Patriots are 0-2 at home and there is no reason at this point to believe the Patriots are better than any team in the NFL. A loss on Sunday would drop the Patriots to 1-4, and then if they lose the following week to Josh McDaniels and the Raiders, they could be looking at 1-7 real easy as they have the Dolphins and Bills after that.

So this New Orleans game is critical. It is critical to Mac Jones’ future. It is critical to Bill Belichick’s future. It is critical to the New England Patriots’ future. This is not hyperbole.

Mac Jones was benched halfway through the third quarter against the Cowboys. It was not based on performance, says Belichick. He wanted to protect his quarterback. What happened to Belichick’s philosophy of “go out there and play the full 60 minutes”? How many times did we wonder why the hell Tom Brady was still on the field taking snaps at the end of blowout victories? Has Belichick changed his philosophy? Have we seen him change his philosophy anywhere else? This is a guy that still emphasizes special teams in an era when there are, maybe, four punts per game and kickoffs go flying out of the end zone. This is the same guy that abhors making the obvious draft picks, and prefers to reach for players two or three rounds before they are projected.

So let us put all the b.s. aside. Jones was benched for his performance. He was benched because he threw across the field twice in a matter of four plays against Dallas, the second of which was picked for an easy touchdown. He was benched because he rolled out to the right and threw the ball directly into the hands of a leaping, rushing lineman. He was benched because his last pass was no where close to his open receiver crossing over the middle of the field. He was benched because he quit.

This is a critical season for Jones. His rookie contract is closer to the end than it is to the beginning. The Patriots will soon have some decisions to make. If the Patriots finish the season with a record of something like 4-13, the decision will be easy. It would have meant Jones had a bad year, and the Patriots would be in position to draft a possible franchise quarterback.

This was supposed to be Jones’ year. He got the offensive coach he coveted. Things were supposed to be different. All the excuses were supposed to be gone. Instead, it has raised more questions about his decision making, poise, and arm strength.

So that makes this game make-or-break for Jones. He has to prove he can win at home. He has to prove he can throw in the elements (it should be sunny Sunday, but it will be windy). He has to prove he can stay in the pocket and maintain his mechanics. He has to prove he is a leader. Bottom line - he needs to prove he can win a game.

He was already benched last week and replaced by a quarterback that was shown the door by Belichick and O’Brien. He was replaced by a quarterback that none of the other 31 NFL teams wanted to pick up for free.

If Jones gets benched again, that may be it for him. It should be. A quarterback who was drafted in the first round should not still be getting benched in Year Three.

No more excuses. No more talk about not having a qualified offensive coordinator. No more talk about a poor offensive line. No more talk about not having receivers. No more talk about bad weather. It is put up or shut up time for Mac Jones.

A quarterback is not always going to play in ideal situations. Take a look around the league. There are many teams that are having issues with their offensive line. New Orleans is one of them. Dallas was one of them. An upper echelon quarterback needs to overcome these shortcomings. An upper echelon quarterback needs to raise the game of his teammates. An upper echelon quarterback needs to win the games he is supposed to, and sometimes beat teams that may be better than them.

But make no mistake about it, if the team loses against New Orleans, Mac Jones’ future in New England won’t be the only thing we’ll be talking about next week. Bill Belichick will be on the hot seat. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. He may go down as the greatest head coach in NFL history, but if his team is 1-7 or 2-6 halfway through the fourth year without Brady, his job will be in jeopardy just like any 1-7 coach would be.

Belichick is notorious for cutting bait with players that are nearing the end of their career. “Better to cut a player one year before his play drops off, instead of one year after.” Past accomplishments have always meant nothing to Belichick. It has always been what can you do for me now, and in the future.

Robert Kraft needs to adopt the same philosophy with Belichick. It is understandable if Kraft has wanted to keep Belichick so Belichick can break Shula’s all-time win record as a Patriot. I may not agree with the sentiment, but I can understand it. If Belichick only wins four or five games this year, the question is moot. Kraft can’t wait through four years of mediocrity for Belichick to break the record.

Ultimately, the fault lies with Belichick for the impotence of this team. He has admitted in the past that the buck stops with him. It is especially true in his position as coach and GM. Manager Alex Cora could complain this season saying that he was doing the best with the team that was handed to him, subtly taking jabs at then GM Chaim Bloom for not giving him talented players. Cora , as of today, is still employed by the Red Sox. Bloom is not.

Belichick could easily complain that he is doing the best with the limited talent the team has. But he is responsible for the team having no talent. He is responsible for the team having no playmakers. He is responsible for the team having no personality, no pizzazz. Essentially, the team has morphed into him.

Prediction: New Orleans 17, New England 13

The Saints are averaging 15.5 points per game. Listening to some New Orleans sports talk radio this week and they are complaining about how bad their offense is and that their offensive coordinator should be fired. Guess what? The Patriots are worse, averaging only 13.8 points per game. Only Cincinnati is worse, but Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase won’t stay down long.

So it is safe to say, the Patriots have the worst offense in the NFL. The Saints’ offense may be bad, but they have talent. The Patriots have no one on offense that can compare to Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, or Michael Thomas. Saints’ QB, Derek Carr, is playing with a bum shoulder, so he hasn’t been throwing the ball downfield much, relying on short slants and swing passes. The Patriots will be happy to allow Carr to toss the ball east and west, instead of north.

The Patriots traded for JC Jackson this week. It shows their desperation in the secondary after it was learned that Christian Gonzales will be lost for the year. Marcus Jones and Jack Jones are on IR. Jonathan Jones may or may not return from injury this week. Even fourth-stringer, Shaun Wade, is listed as questionable. Pretty soon we may be back to the days of wide receivers Julian Edelman and Troy Brown playing defense. Might we see Demario Douglas on defense?

The Patriots also lost their best pass rusher, Matthew Judon. That should open the door for more playing time for second-round draft pick, Keion White. But with Bill Belichick, who knows? It wouldn't surprise me if he gave the playing time to washed-up veteran Trey Flowers, if Flowers comes off the injured list.

Either way, New England should be able to get some pressure on Carr, but I have more faith in the Saints scoring two touchdowns than I do the Patriots. I’ve been a Mac Jones supporter, but I think he is damaged goods at this point. His performance against the Cowboys was that bad. It was a massive bump in the road. Jones has no mobility, his receivers can’t get open, and his receivers have a hard time making contested catches. To compound things, the Patriots can’t run the ball.

I just don’t see how anyone can pick the Patriots to win against anybody until they show us something. If you think this past week was rock bottom for the Patriots, wait until the reaction you see if they lose against the Saints.