EAST RUTHERFORD -- It shouldn't be a conversation. The Patriots should roll with Mac Jones for the remainder of this season and see how it plays out. They need consistency at the quarterback position. He needs buy-in from the team to play confidently.
But a game like that one at MetLife on Sunday? A game like that one, against one of the NFL's better defenses, may not do much to quiet the calls of a quarterback change the next time the Patriots are playing in front of their home crowd. Still, Bill Belichick did what he could following the 22-17 win to show his starter some support.
First, it's worth mentioning the hugs. There were two of 'em. One public. One semi-private, away from TV cameras and the media horde.
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The first came as Belichick walked off the MetLife turf. On his way to the locker room, the head coach made sure to find Jones prior to Jones' postgame interview with CBS, and they embraced. Later, after Belichick came off the podium and Jones was ready to walk to the mic himself, the two found each other away from cameras in the stadium tunnel. Both smiled big, and they hugged it out again as Jones congratulated Belichick on his historic 325th career win.
Belichick's message for Jones through the media -- on three different occasions by Monday morning -- was relatively glowing, particularly when contrasted with what felt like a lukewarm endorsement of Jones last week.
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"I thought Mac did a good job today," Belichick said Sunday afternoon. "He got the ball out quickly. We gave up some pressure but I thought he did a good job taking care of the ball. Decisions for sure (were impressive).
"Mac’s tough. There’s never any doubt about that. Mac’s a tough kid. I thought he made some good decisions, managed the game well, managed our team well. That’s what a quarterback’s job is to do is to help the team win. That’s what he did."
On Monday morning, he echoed those sentiments in his back-and-forth with reporters.
"I thought Mac did a nice job," Belichick said. "We had pressure on quite a few pass plays -- more than we would like, for sure. I thought he made good decisions and had to pull the ball down a couple of times and make some key runs for us. The Jets gave us some looks on the line of scrimmage that he had to deal with in the running game and I thought he handled those well. I thought he gave us a lot of good plays."
Later on Monday, Belichick spoke to WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show," and when asked about two near-interceptions for Jones -- one that was negated due to a Jets penalty, one that bounced off a helmet at the line of scrimmage -- he had his quarterback's back.
"A lot of that is team execution," he said. "The combination of the play, the coverage, the route, the adjustment and so forth. It's a combination of things. Certainly not all on one player. Collectively, we just have to do a better job of overall team execution. That includes everybody on offense: coaches, players, offensive line, receivers, quarterback, decision-making, you name it."
He has a point.
Against a difficult-to-puncture Jets defense, it was hard for anyone on the Patriots to do much positive. Quarterback included. But his help was lacking, particularly up front.
Jones was under pressure on 17 of his drop-backs (38.6 percent), which was a season-high for him, according to Pro Football Focus. He only saw as many as 17 pressures twice all last season against the Saints and Bucs in Weeks 3 and 4.
With that in mind, let's get to the grades, beginning as we always do with the quarterback ...
Quarterback: C
Was Mac Jones pressured till kingdom come because of a relentless Jets pass-rush? Yes. Was the play-calling head-scratching at times? Sure. Was Jones' day still littered with questionable decisions? Yep.
Jones didn't anticipate his receiver's path and lucked out when a pick-six at the end of the first half was called back due a roughing-the-passer call. His first throw of the game was a slant thrown behind DeVante Parker, which helped lead to a three-and-out. He took a nine-yard sack on first down in the red zone that helped lead to the Patriots settling for a field goal. He also fumbled in the pocket when it looked like he had enough time to pull the trigger -- either to target a pass or make a throwaway -- and it was recovered by Cole Strange.
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Jones was under duress throughout the first half and scrambled on numerous occasions, including one where he opted not to protect himself near the sideline and was blasted into the Jets bench. Jones did convert a third-down scramble, and he hit Jakobi Meyers for a well-placed third-down conversion on the team's first field-goal drive of the game. His touchdown to Meyers was a quick decision on a well-designed play.
But without consistent protection, it was a decidedly up-and-down day for the second-year starter.
Running back: B+
Rhamondre Stevenson and Damien Harris didn't do much in the first half on the ground. They mustered only 35 yards on 13 carries. But, goodness, did Stevenson turn it on in the second half. He had a 35-yard run on the first play of the third quarter where all of his yards came after contact. In all, he had 83 yards after contact despite just 73 yards on the ground in the box score. No wonder Belichick has been singing his praises in recent weeks.
As a receiver, Stevenson was one of the team's most trustworthy players. He snagged seven passes for 72 yards on seven targets, including a nifty one-handed grab that went for 15 yards on the Patriots' second field-goal drive of the game. He also helped block two different players on a third-down conversion to Meyers that looked like a slow-developing screen. He did a little bit of everything in this one.
Harris, meanwhile, finished with 13 touches that went for 52 yards. He looks like an early-down runner and a give-Stevenson-a-breather option at the moment. He played 32 snaps to Stevenson's 49.
Wide receiver: C-
Jakobi Meyers converted on two early third-down plays that were critical to the initial scoring for the Patriots. He uncovered easily working across the field for his first catch, a 16-yard gain. His hesitation move with the ball in his hands on his second third-down conversion of the drive was impressive, allowing him to pick up 13 more to move the chains. His touchdown showed off his nose for the goal line as he wriggled in with a defender closing fast.
Tyquan Thornton's drop hurt on first down at the end of the second half. Kendrick Bourne was whistled, it appeared, for an illegal formation penalty. And Meyers himself lucked out on the negated pick-six because it looked like he worked inside when Jones was expecting him to break out. Very nearly a back-breaking mistake on someone's part there.
Bourne, DeVante Parker (one snap in the game before leaving with a knee injury) and Nelson Agholor combined for just one catch and two yards.
Tight end: C+
Hunter Henry came up with an explosive 22-yard catch down the field early on, but his biggest play of the game may have come as a blocker on a pick play. On Meyers' short touchdown catch-and-run play, Henry and Meyers aligned in a stack and Henry got off the ball to block immediately. Didn't even try to hide his intentions. Legal within one yard of the line of scrimmage -- though Henry blocked for longer than that -- that pick gave Meyers the room he needed to dive into the end zone and give the Patriots a 13-10 lead.
Henry also looked open and ready for the pass on a failed fourth-and-1, which helps this grade a tad. This group isn't bringing much to the table from a box-score standpoint, but there are little plays that pop up that lead to positive contributions.
Offensive line: F
What a day. The Jets rolled in wave after wave of defenders up front, and the Patriots didn't experience much in the way of success with any of them.
Marcus Cannon was credited with a whopping seven pressures allowed, including one sack. Cole Strange allowed a sack of his own and had an additional three pressures. He also had two penalties, which may have helped lead to his eventual benching in favor of Isaiah Wynn.
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Not caught off guard by the move inside, Wynn practiced at left guard in the week leading up to the game because the team knew A) Cannon would start at Wynn's old spot and right tackle and B) with James Ferentz starting in place of David Andrews (concussion) there was a need for a backup guard.
Trent Brown allowed three pressures, and Ferentz allowed two including a sack. And when you account for the fact that Stevenson had more rushing yardage after contact (83) than he did beyond the line of scrimmage (73), then you can understand why this grade sits where it does.
Special teams: B+
Really strong day for this group. Nick Folk was once again Mr. Consistency, taking advantage of an unusually calm day weather-wise at MetLife and knocking down all five of his field goals, including a 52-yarder. Jake Bailey knocked two of his four punts inside the 20 and had a well-placed punt carried into the end zone by DaMarcus Mitchell, which wiped away maybe his best punt of the afternoon.
Jabrill Peppers showed up in a big way not only by recovering the late-game onside kick -- where the Jets took a sidewinding path to the football -- but also by laying out a Jets gunner on Marcus Jones' 32-yard punt return, which was a key play in the game. Jonnu Smith also put in some work in the kicking game, nabbing a squib kick and returning it 16 yards while fighting through contact.
Not a perfect day. Pierre Strong got flagged for a block in the back, and Mitchell's touchback play was a mental hiccup. But, overall, it was an improvement.
Defensive line: B+
Led by Deatrich Wise, this unit did its fair share of disrupting Zach Wilson. Wise played all but five snaps in the game -- a monumental feat for a player who checks in at 295 pounds -- and finished with a massive tally of eight pressures. Not quite to the same extent, but Daniel Ekuale -- taking advantage of more playing time with Christian Barmore out -- was a regular in the backfield with three of his own pressures.
Lawrence Guy was the only one who was actually able to bring Wilson down, tallying his first sack of the season. This group earned this grade not just for its work in the passing game. They also held all Jets running backs to less than 4.0 yards per carry -- no small feat after rookie Breece Hall had made a case for Offensive Rookie of the Year prior to tearing his ACL last week.
Linebacker: A-
Matt Judon's box-score numbers were nothing to write home about: One tackle, one pass breakup. But he finished just behind Wise with seven pressures, and his were more impactful. Two of his quarterback hurries resulted in Wilson interceptions, one to position-group pal Ja'Whaun Bentley and one to Devin McCourty. He also submitted one wildly-impressive, high-effort rep where he jammed a slot receiver, "collisioned" a crosser and then put a hit on Wilson to help force an incompletion.
Mack Wilson had another pressure which helped lead to McCourty's second pick of the day, and Josh Uche picked up a sack. Everyone was invited to the party, and Wilson was happy to oblige them with splash plays as parting gifts. Under pressure, Wilson completed just 25 percent of his passes, threw all three of his picks and ended up with a 31.0 passer rating.
Secondary: B
While Wilson gifted the Patriots a handful of turnovers, and while he never should've thrown McCourty's first pick where he did, it was an impressive catch along the sideline by the veteran. And he gets credit for what felt like an unprecedented locker-room celebration after Belichick surpassed George Halas on the all-time wins list. Not sure many players other than McCourty and Matthew Slater could get away with that one.
Jabrill Peppers also helped carry this group by leading the team in tackles with eight, including a tackle for a loss when he shot a gap like a linebacker early in the third quarter. He did have a late out of bounds hit that hurt this mark, but it was a solid day for the 215-pound safety, who filled in for the injured Kyle Dugger.
This unit was burned on a handful of occasions, though, which prevents this grade from getting much higher. Jalen Mills seemed to lose Garrett Wilson in zone coverage for a 54-yard gain in the first quarter that led to a Jets field goal. Late in the fourth quarter, with the game not put away, the Patriots gave up a 63-yard completion to Denzel Mims.
Jets tight ends CJ Uzomah and Tyler Conklin each had catches of 27 yards as Wilson seemed to like that matchup against Patriots safeties. He went to Conklin in the end zone on one of his best throws of the day, finding a touchdown near the front pylon with second-year Patriots safety Josh Bledsoe there in man-to-man coverage.