Mac Jones and Matt Patricia's beef takes yet another ugly turn as Patriots blow two timeouts in pursuit of a TD
Mac Jones and Matt Patricia are not having the best of relationships. Their beef burst out into the open as the New England Patriots faced the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, December 18.
As Josh McDaniels, the former offensive and quarterbacks coordinator for the Patriots, returned with the Las Vegas Raiders, Mac Jones could not help but feel a tinge of envy.
Nowhere was their fraught relationship more openly visible than when they visited the red-zone in the first half. On first and goal, Mac Jones missed an open throw but on second and goal, he hit Jakobi Meyers for a touchdown. The only problem was that the Patriots had already called a timeout.
They failed again on third and goal and wasted another timeout as Jones sent the field goal unit back to try and score on fourth-and-goal. Luckily, they pulled a quarterback sneak to get into the endzone.
Unluckily, the play had been whistled dead on a false start. Despite entering the end-zone twice in four plays, they did not get a touchdown and instead had to settle for a field goal. That was the only score they could score in the first half against the Raiders.
One red-zone trip. Two touchdowns wiped off the board. Both the Patriots' own doing...
Patriots call a timeout to erase a Jakobi Meyers score. False start on Jonnu Smith -- after a second timeout -- wipes away a Mac Jones QB-sneak touchdown.
Ugly.
The ineptness of the whole play was enough to drive anyone mad, especially those associated with the Patriots. This is not the first time in recent weeks that we have witnessed their apparently dysfunctional relationship.
Mac Jones and Matt Patricia problems in full view
Mac Jones had an outburst against Matt Patricia last week as well as he seemed to blow the offensive play caller away. It was clear at the time that the quarterback and coach were not in sync.
Mac Jones has had enough of Matt Patricia https://t.co/RJOA8RYP7L
Matt Patricia tried to tamp down any conversation about a fallout between them after the game. He said that since both of them wanted to win, it was just a natural outburst of emotion.
However, based on the evidence today, it is not something as simple as that. After the botched plays that wiped out two of their offensive touchdowns, one could see the coach and the quarterback sitting on the sidelines, with Matt Patricia trying to calm the young player down.
The Mac Jones and Matt Patricia relationship is an interesting one.
https://t.co/s7dWfFfmTn
Later during the game against the Raiders, there was another play-call confusion on a punt, which showed the Patriots having an unsynchronized play-calling system. Overall, it showed that the coaching brass and the players are not on the same page, quite literally.
If the Patriots want to get to the playoffs, this is something they need to fix as soon as possible.