Inside Mac Jones' best performance of the summer amid Patriots quarterback competition (2024)

FOXBORO – The Patriots concluded their 18th practice of training camp Wednesday. It was the first of two joint practices with the Giants at Gillette Stadium. Here are The Athletic’s observations.

Attendance

Did not participate (13): QB Cam Newton (COVID-19 protocols, third absence), OLB Josh Uche (first absence), CB Justin Bethel (first absence), WR N’Keal Harry (third consecutive absence), DT Nick Thurman (second absence), TE Matt LaCosse (fourth consecutive absence), WR Tre Nixon (sixth consecutive absence), QB Jarrett Stidham (PUP), CB Stephon Gilmore (PUP), LB Cam McGrone (NFI), LB Terez Hall (PUP), S Josh Bledsoe (NFI), DT Byron Cowart (PUP)

Returned: RB Brandon Bolden returned in a limited capacity in a red non-contact jersey.

Red non-contact jerseys: TE Hunter Henry, DB Myles Bryant, Bolden

Injuries: LT Isaiah Wynn and WR Nelson Agholor departed practice. With temperatures approaching 90 degrees, it’s possible the departures were heat-related. … LB Dont’a Hightower got his left hamstring stretched out during one period but returned and finished practice.

Notes: Henry participated in seven-on-seven team periods but not 11-on-11s. … Bethel said Tuesday his wife was close to giving birth.

Gear: Full pads with an officiating crew

Quarterback competition

Mac Jones had his strongest showing of the summer, completing 35 of 40 passes against the Giants’ starting defense, including one stretch of 18 consecutive completions. One of his incompletions was a throwaway through the end zone.

Jones’ targets: James White (6 of 6), Hunter Henry (3 of 3), Nelson Agholor (1 of 3), Kristian Wilkerson (5 of 5), Jakob Johnson (1 of 1), Jakobi Meyers (6 of 6), Gunner Olszewski (4 of 4), Kendrick Bourne (6 of 7), Jonnu Smith (2 of 2), Damien Harris (0 of 1), Isaiah Zuber (1 of 1).

Cam Newton is eligible to return as early as Thursday if he tests negative before practice. Because the pair had split reps throughout camp, there had always been a level of curiosity with how Jones would perform if given the chance to get a more extensive look, and he answered that question in Newton’s absence. Jones was 31 of 40 with two interceptions Tuesday and now 35 of 40 against the Giants. This type of momentum seems to further the point that his 12-of-24 showing Monday was more about the Patriots’ defensive performance than anything. His 82.5 completion percentage over the past two days supports that theory.

Jones was involved in 53 snaps in team drills.

Jones was 13 of 14 in two seven-on-seven periods, including 7 of 8 with six touchdowns in the red zone.

The Patriots opened with a seven-on-seven red-zone period, and Jones started with a completion to White on a left out route before hitting Henry for a touchdown up the right seam. His next throw was incomplete by the short right pylon, as corner James Bradberry came back harder than Agholor to break up the throw. (Interestingly, after the period when the Patriots and Giants broke into a special teams segment, Jones and Agholor worked alone on that route.) Jones came back with a touchdown to Wilkerson on a hitch, another touchdown to Wilkerson who was the third read while crossing the back of the end zone and then hit Henry for a touchdown on a left out route.

Then in an 11-on-11 period, Jones went through his progressions before hitting Johnson on a checkdown, later faked a handoff before connecting with Agholor on a right out route against a zone defense then finished with his biggest mistake of the day, coming up short on Agholor’s deep crossing pattern on a pass that probably should’ve been intercepted by Xavier McKinney. After Brian Hoyer got some reps, Jones returned for one more throw in the period and hit White in the left flat on a checkdown. Following the near-pick, this started the stretch when Jones completed 18 in a row.

The teams then split into a full-field two-minute drill in 11-on-11s, and Jones went 5 of 5. He hit Wilkerson on a drag route, Meyers on a middle crosser, Wilkerson with a strong throw on a left out route against zone coverage, Meyers on a dig route and finally White on a wheel route with a beautiful throw and catch. This set up the Patriots for Nick Folk’s 32-yard field goal, which was good.

Next in a midfield seven-on-seven period, Jones hit Olszewski on a dig against a zone coverage, Bourne on a slant-stop route, Meyers on a right out route then Wilkerson on a crossing pattern with a good, patient read as he got through the junk over the middle of the field. Jones then hit Meyers on a slant-stop route and Olszewski on a hitch. The offense then moved closer to the goal line, and Jones hit Bourne for an 8-yard touchdown on a combo route and Henry for a 6-yard touchdown on a slant. Jones was 21 of 23 at this point in practice.

Then in an 11-on-11 period, Jones went play-action and hit Bourne on a crosser with room to turn up the field and run after the catch. He then hit Meyers on a left out route with pressure off left tackle Yodny Cajuste. Next, with Rhamondre Stevenson doing a solid job to pick up a blitzer, Jones had enough time to hit Smith on a deep left crosser. He then hit Bourne on a left out route for his 18th consecutive completion. With pressure coming up the middle a play later, Jones shuffled and tried to quickly dump it to Harris, but the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage. Jones stepped around more pressure on the next play before hitting Bourne on a left out route.

In an 11-on-11 red-zone period, Jones connected with White on a hitch, then White again on a designed backside swing pass. After a couple runs, Jones faked a handoff, felt pressure off Cajuste’s side and made a quick throw to Olszewski for a touchdown on a crossing route against tight coverage. That was a strong sequence with pressure mounting as Isaiah Wynn had departed for the locker room.

In the final 11-on-11 two-minute drill, with the offense starting at its own 15-yard line due to a false start, Jones opened with an incompletion to Bourne on a dig route, as the throw came up just a bit short and Bourne couldn’t make a diving catch. Jones went right back to Bourne on a similar route, and the receiver made a tough catch in traffic, but it might not have turned out that way in live action with defenders bearing down. It was one of Jones’ rare mistakes of the morning. He rebounded to hit Smith on a right out route. Then after a defensive hold – which negated a sack against Cajuste – Jones’ ensuing play involved some nifty footwork to roll right with a free blindside blitzer before he hit Zuber on a right out route at the sideline. Jones then hit Olszewski on a dig route before dropping a beautiful 50-yard touchdown to Meyers against double coverage, with an assist due to White for a blitz pickup. With a couple reps left in the practice plan, Bill Belichick spotted the ball inside the 10-yard line, and Jones had to throw it through the end zone after quick pressure against Cajuste. On the final play, Jones hit an open White in the back corner of the end zone for another touchdown. Jones was greeted by a happy Belichick as he walked to the sideline.

Jones got a ton of work in an intense atmosphere against an unfamiliar team with an above-average defense and temperatures nearing 90 degrees. He handled himself well in the red zone, the two-minute drill with two scoring drives in two chances and against lots of pressure, particularly after Wynn’s departure.

Jones is now 65 of 79 (82.3 percent) with one interception in three joint practices over the last two weeks. And in three practices without Newton, Jones is 78 of 104 (75 percent) with two interceptions.

Look at another trend: From Aug. 4-24, the Patriots conducted six competitive practices at Gillette Stadium (not including joint practices or walkthroughs), and Jones was 41 of 55 (74.5 percent) with two interceptions in 11-on-11s against the Patriots’ starting defense.

It’s been mentioned so many times how much Jones has improved throughout camp, and the performance has been consistent across the board. He isn’t just inflating his numbers in seven-on-sevens, or against backup defenses or picking on opponents’ defenses that might not be perceived to be as strong as New England’s.

Will any of this matter in the competition to start in Week 1? Still too hard to know, but the split of reps Thursday upon Newton’s scheduled return will paint a better picture.

Remaining observations

• Yodny Cajuste had a solid outing last week against the Eagles and has gotten more opportunities as an early tackle substitute over the last three practices in Foxboro. He is obviously making a push for a roster spot as the fourth tackle, but this could also just be an opportunity for the coaching staff to gather a more comprehensive evaluation of the 2019 third-rounder before next week’s final cuts. Cajuste had virtually all of his first two seasons wiped out by injuries, so there hasn’t been much to study. One day shouldn’t make or break his chances, but he was overwhelmed against the Giants, surrendering a sack (negated by a defensive hold in the secondary) and at least three pressures over the final 17 passing plays.

• Rhamondre Stevenson benefited the most in the immediate aftermath of Sony Michel being traded to the Rams. During the three 11-on-11 periods that involved a running element, Damien Harris took the first hand-off, which has been the case throughout camp, and Stevenson took the second hand-off each time. J.J. Taylor took the third hand-off in the final two periods.

• It’s just one day, so this shouldn’t be taken as a sweeping evaluation that Stevenson is now slotted into the 1B role behind Harris, but it could be an indication that he won’t be facing the redshirt treatment that other backs have previously gotten. Stevenson was always going to be on the roster regardless, but the Michel trade would appear to open a job for Taylor, who seemed to be on the bubble despite a strong summer.

• If you glossed over it in the throw-by-throw log above, the Stevenson blitz pickup on the long completion to Smith was probably the rookie’s best play of the day, and that’s the type of stuff that’ll get him onto the field sooner than later.

• The Patriots’ front seven routinely controlled the line of scrimmage in team drills. They smothered the Giants’ offensive line. Dont’a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy would have recorded sacks, and there might have been some others who got to Daniel Jones in live action. There were several pressures that resulted in quick throws and incompletions, too.

• Mike Onwenu and Dexter Lawrence got tangled up during a two-on-two period, and it started a miniature scrum between the Patriots offensive line and Giants defensive line. After it was broken up, each unit took a lap. Mac Jones and the Patriots’ coaches involved in the drill also ran with the offensive line.

• Kristian Wilkerson has created momentum this week after a brutally difficult stretch in camp. He caught all five targets against the Giants along with 3 of 4 Tuesday. Nice way to bounce back with Jones under center.

• Hunter Henry was back on the practice stat sheet for the first time since injuring his shoulder. He caught all three targets from Jones in seven-on-sevens, and all three were touchdowns.

• Jakobi Meyers has caught 12 of 13 targets from Jones over the past two practices.

• Nick Folk attempted all three field goals in team periods. He was good from 32, 34 and 45 yards.

• Carl Davis jumped offside in an 11-on-11 period.

• Dee Virgin took over as the top gunner in Justin Bethel’s absence in punt periods.

• Kyle Dugger intercepted Jones. J.C. Jackson, Adrian Phillips and Dee Virgin had pass breakups.

• Bon Jovi was at practice.

Next up

The Patriots return to practice Thursday at 10 a.m. with the Giants for the final open practice of the summer.

(Photo of Mac Jones: Matthew J. Lee / The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Jeff Howe is the NFL National Insider for The Athletic. A native of Lowell, Mass., and a UMass graduate, he previously covered the New England Patriots from 2009-21. Howe, who has been with The Athletic since 2018, is the author of “If These Walls Could Talk: New England Patriots.” Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffphowe