The New England Patriots and their fans enjoyed one of the greatest eras in sports and had one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game leading their offense for two decades. Tom Brady's time in New England saw unmatched success, broken records and six Super Bowl wins. The current state of the team is far from where it used to be.
A drop in quality of play is expected when you lose a future Hall of Fame quarterback, but what the Patriots have now is a drastic change from what fans got used to for 20 years.
On Sunday, quarterback Mac Jones threw his fourth pick-six at Gillette Stadium, which ties the number of interceptions returned for touchdowns that Brady had on New England's home field, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The biggest difference? Brady threw that many from 2002 (when Gillette opened) to 2019, while Jones did it from 2021 to now.
The latest interception came against the New Orleans Saints in the first quarter. Jones' pass was intercepted by Tyrann Mathieu, who ran it back to make it 7-0 New Orleans.
TYRANN PICK-6!!!@Mathieu_Era takes it to the house! #Saints | 📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/NcLqKhCBlD
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 8, 2023
This is Jones' third pick-six of the season and the sixth in his career, tying Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford for the most in the NFL since 2021. Meanwhile, Jones also had a fumble returned for a touchdown against the Cowboys in Week 3.
Not exactly a great showing from the Patriots starter.
Through four games this season, Jones had a 63.7 completion percentage, five touchdowns and four interceptions. The 25-year-old was 16th in passing yards, 12th in touchdown passes and 25th in passer rating heading into Week 5.
The Patriots are currently 1-3, with their only win coming against a very beatable New York Jets team. In their 38-3 loss against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4, Jones exited the game and was replaced by backup Bailey Zappe. Head coach Bill Belichick said Jones was not benched due to his poor performance, but instead because "there was no point in having him out there."
If the offensive struggles continue, Belichick may have no other option than to bench Jones due to his poor play. Zappe, while he got the attention of Patriots fans last season when he came in to replace Jones, has not proven himself as a much better choice than who they currently have.
Jones' career in New England has been rocky from the start. In his career, he has 7,696 yards, 41 touchdowns and 28 interceptions.
The Patriots are scheduled to face former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels next week, who is now the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Former Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo began the season as the starter for the Raiders, but missed last week's game due to injury.
