Mac Jones is critical of his performance in the Patriots’ win over the Chargers: ‘I definitely didn’t have my best day’

Mac Jones has played some impressive football so far in his first NFL season, but the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback was not at his best against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Completing only 18 of his 35 pass attempts for 218 yards, the first-round rookie appeared to leave multiple plays on the field and never quite find his rhythm.

It did not matter in the end as the Patriots came away with a 27-24 road victory. Jones, however, was still critical of his performance after the game was over.

“I definitely didn’t have my best day at all. I think everyone around me a had a great day, and that’s what football’s all about. I have to find ways to improve and that aspect of just being consistent and making the throws I know I can make,” he said.

“It’s not always going to be perfect, and for me sometimes that’s really hard because I want to be better than that. I feel like it falls on my hands a lot, because that’s what quarterback is — which is a good thing. But I can definitely play better and I’ll put that on me.”

Coming off his arguably two best games as a pro, Jones was noticeably shaky against the Chargers especially in the second and third quarters. He had some prominent misfires, including back-to-back throws that led to a turnover on downs at the goal line, and appeared to be rattled at times by a talented Los Angeles front seven.

At the end of the day, however, the youngster still came through in the clutch. He connected with Jakobi Meyers on a crucial two-point conversion, and hit all four of his pass attempts on the massive seven-minute drive that effectively iced the game in the Patriots’ favor.

Accordingly, Jones still had a lot to feel good about leaving Week 8.

“We finished strong and that’s the moral of the story: just finish strong,” he said. “It feels a lot better to be on the winning side and not play as well than to be on the losing side. That’s what you have to take from it, and we just have to keep moving forward and don’t be satisfied. Just keep working and next week we’ll be ready to go.”