The New England Patriots‘ Mac Jones can’t stay out of the news for all the wrong reasons these days. Jones’ return from injury didn’t go as planned on Monday night against the Chicago Bears.
The second-year pro was pulled after three offensive series. The last one culminated when Jones was picked off by Bears rookie safety Jaquan Brisker. Jones was pulled from the game in favor of rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe, and the former never returned to the contest.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Jones made news the following day for a play that happened just three snaps before the interception. Jones scrambled, slid, and looked to have intentionally raised his foot to kick Brisker in the groin.
Twitter exploded as they looked at the video and blasted Jones for what looked like a dirty play.
Take a look at the video, which was posted by several people, but this tweet is from For the Win’s Christian D’Andrea:
It seems pretty clear in the video that Jones unnecessarily raised his foot to kick Brisker low, despite the safety jumping in the air to avoid contact with the quarterback.
Twitter saw the video and came down pretty hard on the Patriots’ embattled quarterback.
One fan suggested the NFL look at the play and consider disciplinary action. He points out the apparent double standard that favors and protects quarterbacks but doesn’t hold them to the same standards.
One fan called Jones the “Grayson Allen of the NFL,” referencing the notoriously dirty Milwaukee Bucks guard who has become infamous for his style of play.
Willie Lutz of Talking NFL called Brisker’s interception of Jones three plays later the ultimate “karma” for the Patriots’ quarterback. Some might suggest getting benched was part of it as well.
To make matters worse, Jones appeared to have tried to trip Brisker on a slide earlier in the game.
This behavior is uncalled for, and the league should take a look at it. There’s no place in the game for this sort of extracurricular activity that can easily lead to an injury. The game is dangerous enough when played on the up and up.
Mac Jones Apologized, But Jaquan Brisker Thought it Was Intentional
Jones didn’t appear to deny any guilt for his actions.
According to Brisker, who appeared on 670 The Score’s Bernstein and Holmes on Tuesday, Jones apologized to him after the game.
“I think he said he didn’t mean to do it or something like that,” Brisker said. “I just told him I hope he can get healthy and things like that — good luck.”
Brisker did mention he believed Jones’ actions were “very intentional.”
“Looking back, when he first slid, he had tried to trip me, so I feel like the second time was intentional,” Brisker said. “After looking back at the film, it looked intentional. I tried to avoid him. The way he slid he slid with his feet on the ground first. I tried to avoid him, and he kicked his foot up, so it was very intentional to me.”
Mac Jones Has a History of Dirty Plays
Jones was accused of dirty play as a rookie when he grabbed the ankle of the Carolina Panthers’ Hasson Reddick as he tried to get to a loose ball during a contest in 2021.
Jones gets sacked from behind by the Panthers’ Brian Burns. The ball comes out, and there is a scramble for the ball. Jones grabs Reddick’s ankle and twists it, and his actions resulted in an injured ankle for the Panthers’ linebacker.
Here is a look at the video:
Jones may be held accountable if these plays persist at some point.
