National Football League

Hidden truths behind Mac Jones' season-best game; notes on Bills, Jets, Dolphins

Updated Nov. 28, 2022 6:44 p.m. ET

On Thanksgiving night against the Minnesota Vikings, Mac Jones looked as good as he has looked all season. The New England Patriots quarterback was as productive as he's been, and he didn't turn over the football. On paper, he was brilliant.

His stats show a quarterback who was more comfortable and confident while completing 28 of 39 passes for 382 yards and two touchdowns. That's pretty good, right? Especially for a QB who made an unfortunate habit of throwing interceptions in big games earlier this year.

Jones wasn't exactly upbeat after New England's 33-26 loss. But he was more positive than he's been in recent weeks. He was asked about the team having five pass-catchers (DeVante Parker, Rhamondre Stevenson, Nelson Agholor, Hunter Henry and Jakobi Meyers) with 60 yards or more.

"I think that's what's cool about this offense is you don't know when it's going to come to you, but it can come to you on any play," Jones said postgame. "Kind of cool there. Obviously need to score more points to kind of put us ahead and do things better."

That seemed like the general idea for New England's offense this offseason. Maybe the Patriots couldn't beat their opponents with a No. 1 option. But maybe they could beat their opponent with five options who are capable No. 2 weapons in most offenses.

So New England is finding its identity — even in a loss. That's almost a moral victory for a team that has struggled on offense, right?

Well, I'm not so sure.

The problems reside in Jones' fourth-quarter film. On the Patriots' most important drives, the Vikings were able to bend and not break. New England's receivers struggled to get open. Jones struggled with anticipation throws and, therefore, allowed the pocket to collapse on him. He failed to pull the trigger and missed opportunities on third down. That led to punts — and a failed comeback effort. In that fourth quarter, most of the team's issues came thundering back and New England lost.

Put together those issues with the ones the Patriots had in the red zone, where the team failed to score on their three trips.

"It's a critical area of the field where we have to go out and perform well. We have to get the ball in the end zone. It's a tough area of the field, certainly," offensive playcaller Matt Patricia said Saturday. "The plays happen faster. Everything happens quicker. Everything is condensed. Overall we're trying to do a better job of getting the ball in the end zone.

"We're definitely looking at those things from all different aspects. Trying to stay positive [and not suffer lost yardage] in that area is critical for us," added Patricia. "We've got to coach it well and execute and continue to try to put the ball in the end zone."

So while Jones and the passing offense looked the best they've looked, they have to finish. In the red zone. In the fourth quarter. And … in one other area.

That brings me to the next point of weakness — which I didn't even notice until coach Bill Belichick brought it up in a press conference.

The coach was asked whether his offense looked better this week.

"Good at times, three-for-10 on third down. Not really good enough," Belichick said. "Couldn't get the ball in the red area on a couple drives. Room for improvement."

So maybe the coach didn't view this game as a big step forward — not for the passing offense and not necessarily for Jones. But within the Patriots coaching staff, there was optimism about strengthening some of the team's weaknesses. Patriots tight ends coach Nick Caley expressed confidence when asked about New England's scoring issues. That's a continuation of a rough run for the team, with touchdowns on just 38.7% of their red-zone trips this season. That's 31st in the NFL, per teamrankings.com.

"We're close. There's a few things here or there that we've got to do better. It's the NFL. It's tough to score points," Caley said. "We've got to do a better job of playing cleaner and finishing things. I think we're on the right track."

That'll be one of the many fascinating things to watch in the Patriots-Bills matchup this week. Now, let's get to my other AFC East takeaways from Week 12.

Isaiah McKenzie's big day foreshadows bigger things for Bills offense

In 2021 and the beginning of 2022, the Bills' biggest strength seemed like the team's biggest weakness. They relied upon Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs. And that's great in games like the team's 28-25 win over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. But it's also not great in games like the team's Week 9 loss to the New York Jets.

So it was encouraging to see receiver Isaiah McKenzie enjoy his best game of the season. In Detroit, the slot receiver finished with six catches for a season-high 96 yards for one touchdown. He put up receptions on six different defensive backs. His ability to generate a 30-yard touchdown served as a signal to the Lions that the Bills were not simply going to lean on Diggs for the entirety of the game. Buffalo wanted to make use of all its skill players.

And that included a heavy dose of the rushing attack. Devin Singletary had 14 carries for 72 yards. Allen had 10 carries — admittedly too many — for 78 yards and a touchdown. The team finished with 29 rushes for 164 yards and a touchdown.

"We're finding a balance — a real balance. In the past years, we were pretty pass-heavy," Diggs said postgame. "But Motor and all the running backs do such a great job that we're finding other ways to win. And it's actually helping us. We might not be as sharp in other areas, but we're working at it. Every year is a new year, and we're growing as we're going."

The Bills' reliance upon their full cast of skill players seemed to open up things for Diggs when it mattered most. After Allen and Diggs connected on 3 of 9 passes for 12 yards in the first three quarters, they managed 5-of-6 for 65 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter — including a game-saving grab on the team's final drive for 36 yards.

It's important that Gabe Davis, Dawson Knox and McKenzie play up to their potential. Because Diggs and Allen need their help.

Should Josh Allen slide more?

Because Allen is such a massive part of the Bills offense as a passer and a runner, he sometimes has a habit of putting the team on his back too much. Sometimes that shows up in interceptions. (Until last week, he had a run of posting two interceptions in three consecutive games.) Sometimes Allen carries the ball too much and takes too much contact, including on Thursday when he led the team in rushes and rushing yards. (He has led the team in rushing yards in seven of the team's 11 games.)

Allen's rushing attempts haven't created problems for the Bills. But it's something they will certainly have to keep an eye on, with the potential for injury looming large.

"It's obviously a constant conversation and a constant give and take because you don't want to take what makes Josh special out of him either," offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said on Saturday. "But there's a time and a place and situations in a game where you're going to have to do things like that, not go down and try to get extra yards. And then there's times and places where you got to get down and take those extra hits off yourself.

"So I think it's a constant conversation with him, and for the most part, he did a lot of good things in that regard [Thursday] in terms of limiting those shots when he's out on the move."

It's shocking when the Jets defense allows yardage

While watching the first quarter of the Jets' win over the Bears, I was stunned. Chicago was driving with some efficiency. Backup quarterback Trevor Siemian didn't look completely overmatched.

For me, that was a stunner.

The Jets have made life outlandishly difficult for even star quarterbacks this season. Josh Allen looked human. So did Aaron Rodgers. New York plays everyone tough. Cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed have been one of the best tandems in the league. And I couldn't believe that, during the course of the Bears' opening drive, Gardner allowed a big play by Chase Claypool.

And then Reed allowed a touchdown by Byron Pringle.

It seemed like the Jets being the Jets. They finally got solid quarterback play. Mike White was playing like he was 2001 Kurt Warner. And New York's defense was failing the team.

First of all, the Jets were not being the Jets. Their defense turned things around quickly.

Second of all, New York reminded me just how high of a standard it has set for itself on defense. The Jets are so good that I'm surprised when a team scores a touchdown. And that's because they've allowed just two touchdowns (on defense) in the past two games. (They have also allowed a special teams touchdown.)

New York's defense is special. And if White helps their offense play calm and collected football, the rest of the NFL — and its media — will start showing more love for the Jets.

Dolphins secondary remains suspect, even while "embarrassing" Texans

I've written about how defensive coordinator Josh Boyer has done a good job holding this defense together in the face of injuries. And I've written about how the acquisition of outside linebacker Bradley Chubb should help the pass defense improve — because it badly needed improving.

So in a game that looked like a blowout, I thought the narratives were all coming together. The Dolphins were shutting out the Houston Texans and their unimpressive offense. It seemed like an improvement. But then the Texans started to play fairly well. They were airing the ball out without fear — and they probably felt free to because the Dolphins pulled Tua Tagovailoa in the third quarter.

What did they have to lose?

Houston had a few moments of offensive spark in its 30-15 loss — and they came against the Dolphins secondary. Brandin Cooks, in particular, manage to rip off a big chunk.

Cooks later said the game was "embarrassing" for the Texans, per NFL reporter Aaron Wilson. But I can't help but wonder if the Dolphins will be a little embarrassed at how their defense played in the second half. It's time for Miami to shore up its secondary. That's the team's most glaring weakness and might be an issue in the coming weeks.

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Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.