Patriots

Mac Jones Gives Candid Review of His Performance Vs. Dolphins

Mac Jones gives candid review of his performance vs. Dolphins in Week 18 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Mac Jones was his toughest critic after the New England Patriots suffered a lackluster 33-24 defeat to the Miami Dolphins in Sunday afternoon's Week 18 regular season finale.

Jones completed 20 of 30 pass attempts for 222 yards with one touchdown and two turnovers (one interception, one fumble) as the Patriots lost for the third time in the last four games.

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"I think we just need to execute better, and that starts with me," Jones said during his postgame press conference. "Just in practice, in the game, you gotta go out there and do much better than we did today. It's super embarrassing, honestly, from my point, just how I played. It wasn't good enough, and I can be better.

"It starts with me. I'm the quarterback and it's my job to make people around me have success. We'll get it fixed. You have to watch the film, learn from it, and realize how embarrassing it is to play that way. But at the same time, we got a great opportunity next week and that's all you can ask for."

The Patriots once again fell into an early hole Sunday.

They trailed 14-0 just nine minutes into the game after Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard intercepted Jones and returned it for a touchdown.

"I knew what coverage they were playing, I just didn't see the outside guy," Jones said when asked about his pick-6. "I threw it too wide, and it was my fault. It was just cover-2. There's nothing to it -- simple. I gotta read it out and do a better job getting the ball to the right guy."

The Patriots were 1-5 this season when Jones committed more than one turnover, which was the case Sunday against the Dolphins. They went 9-2 when he didn't commit more than one turnover.

Jones struggled over the final four games of the regular season, throwing six touchdowns with five interceptions and completing 59.8 percent of his pass attempts. 

The Patriots need a bounce-back performance from Jones in the AFC Wild Card Round to beat the Buffalo Bills or Cincinnati Bengals in their first playoff game.

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