Mac Jones reacts to Patriots' loss vs. Raiders: ‘I have to do a better job'

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If you had one word to describe the four drives the Patriots' offensive starters played in Friday night's preseason finale against the Raiders, it probably would be lackluster.

The offense made little progress at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Two of those four drives were three-and-outs. Another eight-play drive ended with a bad interception by quarterback Mac Jones. The fourth and final drive was decent, but an offensive pass interference penalty by wide receiver DeVante Parker wiped out a touchdown and New England had to settle for a field goal.

Perry: Jones clearly frustrated with a dud offensive performance in Vegas

"We all wish we played better. But at this point we just have to evaluate the film and see what we can do better. We're trying to get it all together, and it's going to happen," Jones told reporters after a 23-6 loss to the Raiders.

"We want to go out there and execute better. That's all it comes down to. Individually I think we can all play better, and once that happens, collectively it'll look a lot better. A good drive at the end. Obviously, I wish we scored (a touchdown), but we want to try to do that every drive and keep the consistency there. Just not a good enough effort from us, and from me. I have to do a better job. It's one game, one day. You dwell on it, or learn from it and move on."

Jones was on the field for seven possessions over the last two preseason games and the offense scored only one touchdown -- against the Carolina Panthers' second-string defense last week. And it's not just one aspect of the Patriots offense that's struggling. There are a multitude of issues. For example, the offensive line is struggling in both pass protection and blocking in the run game. Jones also was not as accurate or comfortable in the pocket as he was last preseason. 

What needs to happen for the offense to get going and build some much-needed consistency?

"It starts with me and just doing the individual things right. Once 10 other guys do it right, then we'll have a collective football play," Jones said. "We have to do that more consistently. It's not about rah-rah speeches or things like that. It's just pure execution. We're going to work on it and grind through it. I think it's good to kinda be where we are and learn from everything and have good conversations. That's the important part. Don't just sit there and say it was bad. It is what it is. What happened on this specific play? What could I have done better? What could we have done better as a group? What could have been explained better?

"It's just attacking each problem and finding a solution. A lot of that needs to be done in the next few weeks. We're going to do it and put our best foot forward and make it happen."

The Patriots have a lot of work to do over the next two weeks to fix the problems plaguing their offense. Based on how poorly the unit has played in practice and the preseason, it's hard to be optimistic about the Patriots' chances of beating the Dolphins on the road in Week 1.

"It's real football now. It's the season," Jones said. "We have to practice well, put a good piece together, and whenever we play, we play. We know that every day at practice we have a chance to be better than the last day. I felt like we were building some good momentum, and now we just need to continue to do that, learn from this and move on."

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