A lot of things went well for Patriots quarterback Mac Jones in his first NFL start, but he wasn’t dwelling on positives after the game came to an end.
The Dolphins held on for a 17-16 win after running back Damien Harris lost a late fumble and the Miami offense ran out the clock, which left Jones to lament a loss after going 29-of-39 for 281 yards and a touchdown. He said in his postgame press conference that there was plenty he could have done “to not even be in that situation” with Harris and said that he and the team are capable of more than they showed this Sunday.
“I think we can get better,” Jones said. “That’s just how we have to look at it. Definitely wasn’t good enough, starting with me. So we’ve got to watch the film. We lost, so it’s not good enough.”
Jones said that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels told him to enjoy the day because “you’ll never play a rookie year opening game again, but that’s not how I wanted it to go.” He’ll try for a happier result against fellow 2021 first-rounder Zach Wilson and the Jets next weekend.