Mac Jones’ resilience continues to impress the Patriots coaching staff

Mac Jones’ fan club continues to grow in the wake of his performance during Sunday night’s lost overtime for the Cowboys.

His ability to shake a pick-six off late in the game and throw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne over the course of the next series spoke highly to anyone who watched.

Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who spoke to the media Tuesday via Zoom, loved the resilience his rookie quarterback showed.

“He is a tough guy. I have seen him grow, I have seen our group grow, ”McDaniels said. “We talk a lot about mental and physical toughness, and how much of what it takes in this league to actually compete and win against good teams.”

It was clear that the interception was not good as the Patriots tried to run out of the clock, but in McDaniel’s mind, the answer was the most important part in terms of Jones growing as a quarterback.

“I thought he was responding with the mental toughness that you will see from your quarterback. He was not super discouraged. He knew we still had time in the game to go out there and make a difference, ”McDaniels said,“ and I thought he made a great game on the touchdown pass to Kendrick. And again, these would mean that you have to spend for these processes.

“Rookies make mistakes every day,” he continued. “Part of being a rookie is understanding that things are going to happen and you can not go in the tank, you can not let it ruin the rest of the day at training or let it ruin the rest of half a game. You need to be able to pick yourself up and move on and try to play better football as the game progresses and I thought he did. ”

Jones completed 15 of 21 passes for 229 yards with two TDs and an interception in 35-29 overtime losses to Dallas.