Mac Jones or Jameis Winston: which quarterback will have a better game in Week 3?
The rivalry between the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints will enter a new chapter in Week 3. Mac Jones and Jameis Winston are respectively taking over for Tom Brady and Drew Brees. It will be the first time the Patriots and Saints have faced off since 2017.
Mac Jones and Winston have had ups and downs this season. Jones is making his third career start and has been incredibly accurate with his passes thus far. Winston had a Week 1 performance that included five touchdowns but played poorly in Week 2.
The question is, which quarterback will lead their team to a better game on Sunday?
Will Mac Jones or Jameis Winston have a better game in Week 3?
Making the case for Mac Jones
Mac Jones through two weeks:
🔹84.1% adjusted completion percentage (1st)
🔹6.8% big-time throw percentage (7th)
🔹84.3 @PFF clean pocket grade (9th)
🔹2.55s average time to throw (9th)
🔹63.2% accurate percentage (9th)
🔹70.2 overall passing grade (16th)
🔹6.2 ADOT (28th)
The argument in favor of Mac Jones stems from a lack of mistakes. Jones has completed 73.9 percent of his passes through two games. He takes check-downs more often than not, but with a rejuvenated James White in the backfield, it's worked well.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has called conservative games for Jones. Jones gets the ball out incredibly quickly, but not for a lot of yards.
According to NextGen Stats, Jones has the sixth-lowest average completed air yards in the NFL with 4.4 yards. It's not a bad idea to take it slow with a rookie QB. But at some point, they're going to have to let him take some risks.
Another thing the Patriots should let Mac Jones do is RPOs. The Patriots' wide receivers leave big plays to be desired. Why not use RPOs to scheme up more yards? Ultimately, it's hard to nitpick too much at Mac Jones.
He's been clean and efficient in the pocket and holds his own against the blitz. There's little reason to think he won't have a good game on Sunday with the style of play he's running.
Making the case for Winston
Turnover-worthy play percentage “leaders” through Week 2 (PFF):
1) Justin Fields, 9.1%
2) Ben Roethlisberger, 6.3%
3) Trevor Lawrence, 6.2%
4) Jameis Winston, 5.7%
5) Zach Wilson, 5.6% https://t.co/hjOuetTgvu
Winston couldn't be more the opposite of a player than Mac Jones. While Jones is conservative, Winston's always been a risk taker. But in 2021, Winston toned down his yards per attempt to a career-low 6.2.
His wide receivers leave a lot to be desired. But the offense is schemed to run through Alvin Kamara rather than putting the load on Winston.
In Week 1, Winston completed 14 of 20 throws for 148 yards and five touchdowns. Winston didn't force things and had a game that forced NFL fans to take a double-take. But in Week 2, Winston looked like the turnover and mistake-prone QB he's always been. He threw two interceptions and was sacked four times.
Bill Belichick is a genius at cooking up defenses to throw quarterbacks off their game. Winston benefits from having the best-skilled position player on either team in Kamara. But the tough question is which version of Winston will show up in New England?
Mac Jones will have the better Week 3 game
Mac Jones will have a better game in Week 3 than Winston. Jones may not be a risk-taker yet, but the Patriots don't need him to be. Winston will have help from Kamara in the passing game, but without Michael Thomas, that's where his help stops.
The Saints' offensive line struggled in Week 2, and if they struggle again, that's a concern going forward.