New England Patriots legend Julian Edelman has hit out at quarterback Mac Jones for failing to tackle Chandler Jones as the Pats lost in dramatic circumstances last Sunday.
The Pats slipped to a horrendous 30-24 loss to the Raiders on Sunday after an ill-fated lateral from receiver Jakobi Meyers towards Jones was intercepted. The match was tied 24-24 with overtime beckoning when Meyers pitched an ambitious ball awards his quarterback.
Raiders star defensive end Chandler Jones appeared rather shocked to see the ball land in his grateful arms, and he simply stiff armed quarterback Jones before taking it to the house. The last-gasp touchdown secured a memorable win for the Raiders while it was a forgettable and frankly embarrassing defeat for the Patriots.
In the agonising defeat to the Raiders, Jones threw for 112 yards on a paltry 41.9% completion as the offence toiled en route to a 30-24 defeat. Receiver Jakobi Meyers will undoubtedly take the headlines for the inexplicable way the Patriots lost the game - but Edelman was frustrated by Jones’ failure to tackle the Raiders defensive star on the game-winning play.
“The season’s on the line,” Edelman said about Jones on the ‘Inside The NFL’ Paramount+ program. “You gotta trip him.”
Edelman was ultimately annoyed by the perceived lack of effort showcased by Jones in the attempt to prevent Jones from scoring the walk-off touchdown on the final play. The 36-year-old - who won Super Bowl LIII MVP - has also grown tired of Jones’ negative attitude shown during his sophomore season.
“You know what, he also doesn’t practice the antics after plays and waving off coaches and all these little p**** faces and stuff,” Edelman said. “Like he doesn’t practice that, and he does it.
“Why can’t you make the tackle? It’s bad.”
This is not a one-off for Edelman after the retired receiver took aim at Jones back in October and called for Bailey Zappe to start as quarterback.
After reaching the playoffs in his rookie season, Jones has undoubtedly struggled this campaign and ranks 29th in the NFL in Expected Points Added/Completion Percentage Over Expected composite. Through 11 games, Jones has thrown for 2,310 yards, seven touchdowns and eight interceptions, while his passer rating has dropped 10 points since last season to sit at 82.6.
Following their loss to the Raiders, the Patriots are now 7-7 and could miss out on the postseason for the second time in three years. The franchise will be desperate for a win when they welcome the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals to Foxborough on Saturday.
