FOXBORO, Mass. — After Thursday’s 24-10 loss to Buffalo, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones explained why he exploded during an expletive-laced tirade caught on Amazon’s game telecast that later went viral on social media.
“Obviously, (I) just kind of let my emotions get to me but we’re kind of playing from behind. What I said was about throwing it deeper in the short (passing) game. I got to execute that part better,” Jones said. “But it’s the short game we kept going to, which is working. But I felt like we needed chunk plays. I shouted that out to kind of get everyone going.
“That’s emotional. That’s football. I’m passionate about this game. Obviously, you don’t want to let your emotions get the best of you. But yeah, I think that’s pretty much it. It wasn’t directed at anybody. Just emotion coming out and we kind of needed a spark.”
Jones added the Patriots planned to attack the Bills defense with a short passing game that would force them to tackle in space. The Pats appeared ready to exploit that weaknesses when rookie cornerback/returner Marcus Jones went off for a 48-yard touchdown on a screen in the first quarter. But then they went three-and-out on their next three series and trailed 17-7 at halftime.
In the second half, the Bills held them scoreless until Nick Folk kicked a 39-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining. Jones went off before that drive, which lasted 17 plays and almost six minutes before the Patriots finally scored.
“Yeah, I think it was just me at that point in the game like, ‘All right, we’re playing catch-up here. Let’s go for it, let’s be aggressive, let’s take those shots, just go down fighting.’ (offensive play-caller Matt Patricia) was on the same page,” Jones added. “We kind of did it there at the end and moved it a little bit more. At the end of the day we have to execute the plays and do a better job.
“Sometimes you’re just so competitive, right? You want to go out there, ‘hey, let’s get a 50-yard gain.’ Sometimes it doesn’t happen, but we might as well go down trying, and try to make it work.”
