Mac Jones went above and beyond his job description Sunday.
The New England Patriots rookie quarterback didn't exactly light it up as a passer, completing 22 of 30 passes for 186 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. But Jones threw his body around on two separate occasions -- once while helping push running back Damien Harris into the end zone, and again while throwing an effective cut block on a Kendrick Bourne end-around.
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Jones clearly is willing to do whatever it takes to help the Patriots win -- and Bill Belichick noticed.
While Belichick made sure to praise Jets quarterback Zach Wilson as well, the Patriots coach gave Jones a shout-out when asked about his rookie QB's cut block.
"Wilson made a play (after throwing an) interception. So, those are both really competitive kids," Belichick said after the Patriots' 25-6 win at MetLife Stadium. "Like Mac's competitiveness, and he brings a lot there."
New England Patriots
Jones' teammates praised the Alabama product's competitive fire during a preseason in which he beat out veteran Cam Newton for the starting QB job, so this type of play seems on-brand for him.
Jones insisted he was just doing his job on both plays.
Key takeaways from Pats' Week 2 win over Zach Wilson, Jets
"Everybody was down there pushing, and my job is to make sure nothing bad happens and just be by the ball, and maybe I should just stay back," Jones said with a laugh when asked about Harris' touchdown run. "But at the end of the day, just trying get the touchdown."
As for the Bourne end-around, the 23-year-old said the play design actually called for him to transform into a blocker.
"My job was to get the guy on the line of scrimmage," Jones said. "That's what I was supposed to do. And KB did a good job getting around the edge."
The Patriots probably don't want to make their new franchise QB a blocker on a regular basis, but fans have to be pleased with the new side of Jones' game that he displayed Sunday in his first NFL win.