The New England Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 14-10 on Monday night, and they did so in spite of their passing game.
New England quarterback Mac Jones had a historic evening but not for any good reasons. Thanks to some very windy weather, Jones finished the night with two completions on just three pass attempts for 19 yards. It’s the second-fewest passes attempted in an NFL game since the 1970 merger.
The two completions also tied for the fewest in a game in Patriots history while the three attempts are the fewest in Patriots history.
The Patriots are also the first team to actually win a game since 1974 despite having three or fewer passing attempts.
Jones actually only had one attempt and completion in the first half, and it seemed like he might finish the game that way until very late in the fourth quarter when the Patriots passing attack came alive…for two attempts.
If you were hoping to see Mac Jones only complete one pass the entire night, blame Joe Buck. #ManningCast pic.twitter.com/5gm1il0O23
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 7, 2021
There’s been a lot of talk about how Jones has succeeded by doing what’s asking of him during his rookie year and tonight might have been the perfect example. It’s hard to screw up too much when you’re only asked to attempt three passes in one game. Many folks about thrown comparisons around between Jones and other elite quarterbacks and, well, maybe this game will cool some jets for a while.
In the meantime, there were plenty of jokes to be made about Jones and his passing game, or lack thereof, on Monday night.
Sean McDermott threw a challenge flag, meaning he's thrown as much as Mac Jones today
— katherine fitzgerald (@kfitz134) December 7, 2021
I would drive a golf cart into a pond https://t.co/V4RqCBNkje
— Treb (@treblaw) December 7, 2021
No wonder the Patriots don’t want anyone talking to Mac. They’re wrapping him in as much protection as they possibly can. And hey, they won the game, so who are we to judge?