Jones looks to build his own legacy with Patriots

Throughout his first NFL season, Mac Jones has been a clear reflection of the New England Patriots way of doing things. He has been modest, has worked hard and has only looked to do what is asked of him to avoid mistakes that would inflict damage on himself.

That has been reflected in accomplishments like being the top rookie quarterback this season in wins (10), yards through the air (3,801) and touchdown passes (22). But it hasn’t kept him immune to the stumbles that inevitably befall rookies.

For Jones, that has meant enduring a 2-4 start, enjoying the joys of a seven-game winning streak and then stringing together three losses in the final four games of the regular season.

It also helped the Pats return to the postseason for the first time since Tom Brady left the team after the 2019 campaign.

Jones is trying to digest that the stakes are more relevant Saturday, when the Patriots travel to Buffalo for their wild-card matchup against the Bills. In the meantime he has received a reminder that he must stick to the model that has gotten him to this point.

“I think it’s a matter of doing a little bit more, but we have to stick to what we know and we just have to prepare like we always have, regardless of the situation,” Jones said.

Of 19 rookie quarterbacks selected in the first round of the draft since 2013 (with at least 10 starts) Jones is the first to finish the season with a winning record. As the only quarterback selected in the first round to advance to the postseason in 2021, he will also have the opportunity to become the first rookie quarterback since Russell Wilson (third-round pick in 2012) to win a playoff game.

He would be the first New England rookie quarterback to do so.

“Just keep working on everything,” said Josh McDaniels, the Patriots’ offensive coordinator. “I don’t think there’s one area where I can say ‘wow, that was the best area of growth and improvement.’ I think Mac assimilates a lot of information. Mac is a guy who, if you give him five or six topics to work on, modify and improve, he really takes them and tries to do the best he can with the time we have in practice to do what we ask him to do.”

As much as Jones has been a model for developing the culture the Patriots have cultivated under the two decades under head coach Bill Belichick, he has had the support of his teammates.

From veterans to other first-year players, the Patriots have had his back from the moment he edged out Cam Newton in the competition for the starting job in training camp.