Mac Jones was putting the finishing touches on what had to be one of the most inconsistent days a quarterback can have. He was at times awesome and awful during the Patriots 37-26 Week 3 loss to the Ravens, making some plays with his feet and dropping downfield dimes to DeVante Parker while also misreading coverages and throwing three picks (and narrowly avoiding a fourth).
The final came in garbage time when he overshot Kendrick Bourne across the middle, but the blemish on the stat sheet was the least of his worries. Jones was hit just after throwing the ball, and Baltimore's Calais Campbell came down hard on him, causing his left ankle to buckle underneath him.
Multiple reports indicate he suffered a significant high ankle sprain. If true he won't likely be playing for at least a few weeks, and while that's a crushing blow for a second-year quarterback who needs the developmental time, it might not be the worst thing for him long term.
Jones has been embroiled in the controversy surrounding Bill Belichick's decision to use Matt Patricia and Joe Judge as his top offensive coaches despite their lack of experience on that side of the ball. Jones spent the entire summer answering questions about them instead of speaking about himself and his teammates.
There were times when Jones seemed frustrated with the entire experience, and although he handled his off-field responsibilities well for the most part, it placed an unfair burden on his shoulders that has carried into the season. Jones hasn't often looked like the poised, smart decision-maker we saw for much of his rookie season, and his five picks through three weeks is an indication of that. In truth, he could have at least that many more if not for some good fortune with potential picks in each game dropped by opposing defenders.
From an admittedly outside perspective, Jones has all the earmarks of a quarterback who is trying to do too much. Whether it's a lack of familiarity with the changes in the system, a lack of belief in the plan of attack or opposing defenses learning how to best defend him, Jones is pressing.
Through 21 games as a starter (including playoffs), Jones is now 11-10 with 26 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. Last season he didn't throw his fifth pick until Week 5. Now he's leading the league and averages nearly one per game over his short career.
This was not how it was supposed to be for Jones, who was considered to be NFL-ready when it came to decision-making and avoiding turnovers. Again, he looks like a quarterback trying to put it all on his shoulders and it's leading to poor decisions like the one he made in the fourth quarter when he floated one to Marlon Humphrey in the back corner of the end zone.
Trailing 31-26 midway through the final quarter, Parker ran a corner route but was intercepted effectively by Humphrey. The Ravens corner easily made the pick as Jones delivered the ball off his back foot while dealing with a safety blitz off the front side. Jones may have been trying to throw it away and simply underthrew it, but he was pretty hot on the sideline after and seemed to upset with some element of the play.
The route?
The call?
The decision?
Probably a little bit of everything, but that was precisely the kind of throw he was supposed to be great at avoiding. A field goal would have been valuable points with nine minutes still to go. The prior play was a draw to Damien Harris on second-and-goal from the 14, so it would be understandable if that choice still had him hot and bothered as well.
Still, no excuse for being so careless with the ball, and ultimately those turnovers were the main reason for defeat. The same was true in the opener in Miami.
So, now Jones faces some time off, and it might be exactly what he needs to settle down mentally and regroup. Sometimes young quarterbacks learn plenty from watching on the sidelines, and Brian Hoyer might be able to avoid some of those turnovers that have derailed the offense thus far.
Calling the injury a blessing in disguise may be going a bit too far, but given his current mental state some time off could be the perfect remedy for him to fix the mistakes.
Speaking of forgotten men …
While Agholor has been a revelation thus far, imagine where San Francisco would be had they parted ways with Jimmy Garoppolo as planned. Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch boldly traded up to select Trey Lance third overall last season, and after a year sitting behind Garoppolo the plan was to turn it over to the kid in Year 2.
Garoppolo was coming off shoulder surgery in the offseason, vastly limiting his trade market as a result. In the end the Niners found no suitable deal and opted to restructure his contract and kept him as Lance's backup. Sure enough, Lance went down with a broken ankle early in the Niners Week 2 matchup with Seattle, and Garoppolo came in and led the team to an easy 27-7 victory. Now, Garoppolo isn't going anywhere and the Niners figure to be in the mix for a Super Bowl run in the thin NFC – provided he can stay healthy.
But beyond the strange circumstances that led Garoppolo back onto the field, what happens next in the Bay Area will be far more captivating. What happens if Garoppolo plays well and San Francisco wins a bunch of games – as has been the case for the most part when he is at the helm?
Lance is a promising young quarterback with an athletic skill set to put pressure on defenses. But he played at FCS level North Dakota State and has a lot to learn about the NFL game. If Garoppolo keeps winning, how can Shanahan and Lynch move on and go back to Lance next season? And even if they change course and decide to stick with Garoppolo, how much would they be willing to pay, and would Garoppolo even be interested in re-signing?
All fascinating subplots to what will be an interesting season in San Francisco.
Wild weekend
Week 2 wasn't kind to defensive coordinators, especially those who were working for teams protecting huge leads. The Browns, Ravens and Raiders all lost despite entering the fourth quarter in complete control of their games. Analytics say that Jets, Dolphins and Cardinals all had a two percent chance of winning, yet all three walked away with victories.
All were brutal losses but Cleveland coughing up a pair of touchdowns in the final two minutes was arguably the worst. The Browns led 24-17 and had the ball first-and-10 at the Jets 12 with 2:02 left and the Jets out of timeouts. Nick Chubb raced into the end zone off left tackle to make it 30-17 as the two-minute warning struck with 1:55 to go.
There was some criticism of Chubb for scoring and thus allowing the Jets to frantically mount a comeback rather than taking a knee in bounds. There's an argument to be made for that, but it's hard to fault Chubb for giving his team a two-score lead.
Had Chubb taken a knee it would have been the two-minute warning, and assuming he did so before reaching the 2 it would have been second down. Two knees would have melted 1:20 or so off the clock, setting up fourth down with anywhere between 30-35 seconds remaining. Cleveland could have kicked a field goal for the two-score lead, but Cade York went on to miss a PAT following Chubb's touchdown run so that was no sure thing.
So, Chubb scored the touchdown and then watched his defense implode. Joe Flacco hit Corey Davis for a 66-yard touchdown on a coverage breakdown, then the Jets recovered the onside kick and suddenly the Jets offense was back on the field. Nine plays later Flacco hit rookie Garrett Wilson for the touchdown, Greg Zuerlein hit the extra point and the Jets walked off winners.
The Ravens watched Tua Tagovailoa turn into Dan Marino in the final quarter as he tossed four touchdown passes and the Dolphins erased a 35-14 deficit. Tyreek Hill got behind the Ravens secondary twice for scores of 48 and 60 yards, unforgiveable given the player and the circumstances, and Tagovailoa threw for a career high 469 yards and six touchdowns in all.
The Raiders game was more bad luck than the other two but equally embarrassing. Las Vegas led 23-7 in the fourth quarter but went stagnant on offense. The Cardinals rallied with a pair of touchdowns and converted both two-point conversions, the latter coming with no time on the clock, to force overtime.
The second touchdown was the first example of bad luck as the Raiders appeared to come up with a fourth-down stop, only to have a questionable defensive holding call give Arizona a first down. Kyler Murray was blitzed immediately and scrambled around for several seconds before throwing incomplete in the left corner of the end zone. The flag fell in the right corner, and honestly given the immediacy of the Raiders pass rush that forced Murray out the pocket, it probably shouldn't have been thrown in the first place. The hold was minor in nature with a slight grab of the jersey, but even if it was an infraction it took place after Murray left the pocket, which negates the call.
Still, it took Arizona all four downs to score before A.J. Green barely secured the conversion with a diving catch in the back of the end zone. That came after the Cardinals were called for delay of game, pushing the ball back to the 7 and evidently changing the Raiders decision to apply heavy pressure on Murray. With plenty of time to throw, he eventually hit Green for the tying points.
Then in overtime the Raiders came up with a fourth-down stop thanks to a terrific hit by Duron Harmon to knock the ball away from Marquise Brown, allowing Vegas excellent field position. Derek Carr hit Hunter Renfrow twice, but the receiver fumbled on both. He got away with the first as the Raiders recovered, but the second resulted in Byron Murphy's 60-yard scoop-and-score walk-off touchdown.
Adding to the lunacy of the day, Murphy's touchdown was reviewed for an extended period because he tossed the ball away as he crossed the goal line. If the officials ruled that he did so before breaking the plane – it was impossible to tell based on the replays shown on CBS – it would have been a safety for the Raiders and a Vegas victory. The call stood, however, and Josh McDaniels walked away with his second loss in as many weeks.
The Rams almost made it four collapses as they nearly squandered all of a 31-10 fourth quarter lead but Jalen Ramsey bailed them out with an end zone interception with L.A. leading 31-25. Even then the Rams weren't out of the woods. After watching a punt get blocked for a touchdown moments earlier, Sean McVay took an intentional safety with :13 left to make it 31-27. But Riley Dixon's free kick sailed out of bounds, giving Atlanta one shot from the 50, but L.A.'s defense again saved the day with a sack of Marcus Mariota.
It was quite an afternoon of football with some poor situational play highlighting the day.
Power 5
Another wild week in the NFL and some movement in the Power 5.
- Buffalo (2-0) – The Bills got over their Tennessee kryptonite and posted an impressive Monday night victory.
- Kansas City (2-0) – Speaking of impressive, Patrick Mahomes doesn't seem to miss Tyreek Hill much.
- Tampa Bay (2-0) – New Orleans' defense dominated Tom Brady but it was the Bucs defense that won the game.
- Philadelphia (2-0) – No player has improved more over the past three seasons than Jalen Hurts. The Eagles are legit contenders in the NFC.
- L.A Chargers (1-1) – Justin Herbert stood toe to toe with Mahomes last Thursday night but once again fell short.
