If this were a prize fight, Mac Jones would be up 1-0 through the first round.
After some see-saw days throughout training camp, Jones and Cam Newton took their competition to the game field on Thursday night for the first football game at Gillette Stadium since Tom Brady’s final game as a Patriot.
New England beat Washington 22-13, but the only thing that mattered to the majority of the people in the stadium were the QB’s and rightfully so.
Cam finished the night 4-for-7 for 49 yards. Newton played just part of the first quarter while Jones’ numbers (13-for-19, 87 yards) don’t jump off the page, but anyone watching could see the offense just looks a bit like the old offense with the rookie under center. Jones also got to play the tail end of the first quarter, the entire second quarter and part of the third quarter as well.
The most impressive part of Jones’ night was the first drive after halftime, where he calmly led the team downfield in a hurry up offense before Quinn Nordin hit his third field goal of the night. There’s still quite a bit of preseason left and this week’s joint practices and preseason game in Philadelphia will be another huge test, but it’s hard to ignore the discrepancy in snaps and the overall operation looking smoother when Mac is running the show.
“That’s not up to me to make the call,” Cam said when asked if he would’ve liked another series or two. “I’ve got full faith in the coaching staff and the people that get paid to do that, and if they say it’s it, it’s it.”
Mac and the rest of the rookies didn’t speak postgame, but Newton continued to say all the right things after the game too, which is why coach Belichick may ultimately stick with him to at least start the season.
“He wants to be so perfect, and I see his preparation is always pristine,” Newton said of Jones. “That’s what I admire about him, being at such a young age he knows how to prepare and knows when Josh (McDaniels) asks quick questions or when a person asks quick questions he knows how to kind of have answers for it.
“Everybody is different. Everybody learns different. But for him and today’s performance, he’s just going to keep getting better, and we’re going to be here for each other along this whole process, and that’s what we’re here for.”
So far, that process has led to a dead heat between the two quarterbacks through the first two weeks of camp and first preseason game. Although, if what happens during live action counts more, then Jones’ preparation and ability to learn quickly has him out in front for the time being.