A staple of New England Patriots teams during the Bill Belichick Era has been their ability to round into form as the calendar flips to November, putting them in position to play their best football as the run to the playoff heats up.
That trend looks to be continuing this season, and a big part of that trend is the recent play from rookie quarterback Mac Jones.
With halftime looming in Foxboro, and the Patriots holding a 21-7 lead with a chance to score before the break, and on the opening possession of the second half, Jones is dealing. The rookie passer has completed 10 of his first 11 throws for 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The first touchdown came as the capper to New England’s first possession of the game, a beautiful touch throw to tight end Hunter Henry along the right side of the end zone:
New England responds with a @Hunter_Henry84 TD to even the score! #ForeverNE
📺: #CLEvsNE on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/VLFkfNeva1— NFL (@NFL) November 14, 2021
Jones’ second touchdown of the day might have been his best throw of the season, as he connected with Kendrick Bourne on this post route right at the goalline for six:
The throw. The catch. 🔥 @MacJones_10 @BournePoly11 #ForeverNE
📺: #CLEvsNE on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/G6YmhZQorc— NFL (@NFL) November 14, 2021
Jones puts this throw in the absolutely perfect spot for Bourne to make a play, and the receiver rewards him with the extension for the touchdown. On the replay angle you can see how Jones uses his eyes and a little pump fake with the football to hold the free safety, and thanks to the “dots,” we can see why that mattered:
Mac Jones 👀
(NFL Next Gen Stats) pic.twitter.com/XvUGVdkiVb
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) November 14, 2021
Jones’ little bit of manipulation holds John Johnson III between the hashmarks, thanks to the threat of the over route from Nelson Agholor. Johnson does what he can, but the manipulation — plus the placement — added up to six points for the Patriots.
