All Signs Point To Mac Jones Getting The Start For The Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence is dealing with a shoulder injury, and the most recent reports out of Jacksonville, are that backup Mac Jones will be getting his first start this season. Jones has not started a game since leaving the New England Patriots, and his first task filling in for Lawrence will not be an easy one. He will face the vaunted Minnesota Vikings, and their pass rush.
Jones has not fared well under pressure during his career. After a stellar rookie season, he was battered the next two years behind a Swiss cheese offensive line. The frequent hits made the quarterback skittish, and he developed a bad habit of throwing passes off his back foot. With no velocity on them, these wobblers typically found their way into the hands of defenders.
Isn't Mac Jones Just Trevor Lawrence?
Only 14 picks separated Jones and Lawrence in the 2021 NFL Draft, and their career numbers have an even smaller margin than that. The former first overall pick has a career completion percentage of 63.4%. He averages 233.5 yards per game, and has 69 career touchdowns to 45 interceptions. Jones, the 2021 offensive rookie of the year runner-up, has a career completion percentage of 66.1%, for 212.3 yards per game, and 46 touchdowns to 36 interceptions.
Lawrence has played in 59 games to Jones' 42, so prorating Mac's touchdowns to 59 games, he'd have 65. They both have career passer ratings just under 86.0. The Jaguars shouldn't miss a beat against the Vikings, because there's essentially no change at quarterback. Both signal callers feature fan bases that will make excuses for their less than ideal numbers. Lawrence played his rookie year under Urban Meyer, and Matt Patricia called the plays for Jones.
The Jacksonville media is also optimistic for Jones. Stadium Rant reached out to Touchdown! Jaguars podcast to get their thoughts on the current backup quarterback. Host James Johnson said, "I think Jones could be in a good situation for several reasons. The first reason is that Philadelphia has very little film on him under Doug Pederson. While Pederson is likely on his way out, the one thing we can't take away from him, is his ability to work with a backup signal-callers. An example of this, is Nick Foles, who Pederson won a super Bowl with."
Johnson also pointed out the Vikings defense, and their ability to hide their intentions, pre-snap, confusing even elite quarterbacks this season. He also noted that Jacksonville will likely be using third stringer, Blake Hance on the offensive line. Johnson did like what he saw from Jones in the preseason, though.
"In the preseason, Jones flashed and he threw the ball with timing, and put the ball in some great spots for the receivers."
Jones is in the final year of his rookie deal, and he is unlikely to start after this game, so this could be his last chance to earn a look as a starter somewhere in 2025. He had elite accuracy in college, and has shown it in the NFL when he has protection. The Jaguars assortment of offensive weapons are better than anything he had with the Patriots, so it shouldn't shock anyone if he has an exceptional game Sunday at 1:00 EST.