What Mac Jones had to say about Jonnu Smith's rough day vs. Saints

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The New England Patriots offense couldn't get much of anything going in Sunday's loss to the New Orleans Saints. Jonnu Smith certainly didn't help in that regard.

The Patriots tight end, who signed a four-year deal worth $50 million this past offseason, dropped three passes in the 28-13 defeat. One of those drops landed in the hands of Saints defensive back Malcolm Jenkins, who returned the interception for a touchdown.

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Smith has 10 catches on 16 targets for 74 yards and no TDs through New England's first three games of the campaign. Those aren't the numbers the Patriots were hoping for when they invested in Smith in free agency. Still, rookie quarterback Mac Jones backed his teammate when asked about those early-season struggles.

"I think Jonnu has done everything right. He's out there running. He's out there blocking, doing what he's supposed to do," Jones said during his postgame press conference. "Me and him, we're not always going to have perfect days. Nobody is. I think it's more about just getting that connection in practice and the timing. That comes with reps. We've kind of been together for a few weeks now, and we've just got to keep growing and turn the page on some of the bad things we did but also learn from them."

Smith was far from the only Pats player with a poor outing on Sunday. Jones threw three picks, the offensive line once again was abysmal, Jake Bailey drilled one out of bounds on a kickoff, the list goes on.

Jones knows there's a lot for the entire team to work on ahead of Week 4.

"There's always good conversations that come out of bad plays or bad days or bad games," he said. "You just have to talk through it and look at it through a positive lens. That applies with everybody on the team, so I think that's what we'll do."

It won't get any easier for Jones and the Patriots as they'll host Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday night.

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