After starting the year with a 1-5 record, the New England Patriots stunned the Buffalo Bills with a 29-25 win capped by tight end Mike Gesicki catching a one-yard touchdown pass from Mac Jones with 12 seconds left in the game.
Following the game, Gesicki was quick to defend his quarterback from some of the criticism he's received this year.
"I don't think a lot of the talk that happens with him is fair," Gesicki said when asked if the win will help Jones' morale. "I think he has done an unbelievable job blocking all of that out."
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Jones received a lot of the blame for New England's slow start, but it wasn't all on the third-year quarterback. With a struggling offensive line, Jones has only had an average of 2.49 seconds to throw this season and has already been sacked 13 times.
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Additionally, Jones' weapons, or lack thereof, have also been questioned. With JuJu Smith-Schuster joining New England this offseason, fans believed Jones would finally have some receiving help. The signing, which came at a comparable cost to what New England could have re-signed Jakobi Meyers for, has been a nightmare so far. Smith-Schuster has only caught 14 balls on 25 targets for 86 yards and has missed the team's last two games due to injury.
DeVante Parker hasn't been much better either, logging 13 catches on 22 targets for 136 yards.
"I think he's done an unbelievable job leading us internally, throughout all that adversity" Gesicki said of Jones. "Today, back against the wall, hearing all the stuff about how we can't close, he stood in there and delivered, play after play after play."
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Gesicki also defended the offense as a whole, stating that, "a lot of chatter has been that the offense is the weak link, and we had a chance to deliver this week and we did."
Jones did look good in the Week 7 matchup, showing flashes of his rookie season that had fans falling in love with the QB early on. Completing 25 of his 30 attempts, Jones confidently threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns, recording a passer rating of 126.7. More importantly, he wasn't responsible for any turnovers.
"Ultimately, we won the game after several great plays and a great ball by him [Jones]," Gesicki added.
After Bills QB Josh Allen's touchdown and a two-point conversion by Dawson Knox, Buffalo took a 25-21 lead over New England with 1:58 left in the game. A lot of people counted Jones and the Patriots out, not believing the third-year quarterback could march down the field and score on a classic two-minute drill, but he did just that. With just 12 seconds left on the clock, Jones found Gesicki in the endzone for the game winning touchdown.
"I'm just really happy for him, and I'm excited for this to propel us forward," Gesicki said.
Regardless of all of the rumors, week after week we continue to see Jones' teammates go to bat for him, defending him at every corner. After an unbelievable win, it is clear that the job is still Jones', and his teammates still believe in him to get the job done.