Mac Jones closed the chapter of his rocky New England career when the Patriots traded him to the Jaguars in March.
He's flourished in the preseason since turning the page to Duval, but despite a third solid outing in a row, his coach Doug Pederson noted the backup quarterback does occasionally slip back into old habits.
"Mac has played extremely well the last couple of weeks and really has bought into what we do," Pederson said Friday following Jacksonville's 31-0 drubbing of the Atlanta Falcons. "He'll still revert back to his Patriot ways every now and then and we got to remind him he's in Jacksonville, but he's done a good job. He's done a good job managing and running the offense, getting everybody involved. He sees the field well, throws a good ball, so he's done a good job."
After three years of NFL tape on Jones, there's plenty of ammo for Pederson to take such a shot at his QB, even if it was lighthearted.
The No. 15 overall pick in 2021, Jones initially looked like he might limit New England's suffering sans a franchise signal-caller to just one season post Tom Brady. He won 10 games in his first year to lead the Patriots to the playoffs as a Pro Bowler and second-place finisher in Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Instead of building on his early successes, he struggled over the past two years to an 8-17 record in 25 starts. Jones' New England legacy became marked by clumsiness in the pocket, shoddy decision-making when rushed and a lack of ball security, as evidenced by his 36 career interceptions and 15 fumbles.
Like Pederson referenced, there were shades of that Jones against Atlanta.
Even on his first pass attempt of the game, he chucked up a prayer as time ran out around him that appeared initially to have equal chances of becoming a stupendous catch by Parker Washington along the sideline, a similarly spectacular interception for Atlanta or a harmless throwaway, which proved the ultimate result. He also stepped up into a sack by Bradlee Anae to end his second drive.
But as he's done for much of his playing time with the Jags thus far, Jones settled in following the two fruitless possessions.
His next three drives, balanced marches of 70, 70 and 58 yards, resulted in 17 points. Jones made quick, correct decisions with the ball throughout much of those series. He at one point connected on seven straight attempts, a streak that included his 13-yard back-shoulder touchdown where only Elijah Cooks could retrieve it to cap off a two-minute drill.
Jones finished 13 of 18 for 113 yards and the score before ceding way to EJ Perry.
It came against Falcons backups, but Jones closed an impressive preseason in impressive fashion. He ends August with 421 yards, three TDs and no interceptions on 38-of-52 passing.
His role backing up Trevor Lawrence in some order with the currently injured C.J. Beathard is a far cry from the one he played in his first professional stop, but he's acclimated splendidly to the change already.
Now, if Jones can continue to reduce New England-style slippage moving forward, the Jags appear to have found a steal of an insurance passer over the offseason.
