All eyes were on the 1st round QB on Sunday afternoon in New England. In his debut with the New England Patriots as QB1, the pressure of the entire northeast was on his shoulders and he put on a show. Although the Patriots lost 17-16, Mac Jones showed everyone that not only does he belong as a NFL starter, he has all the intangibles to stick around for a while. Perhaps the Patriots aren’t as far from being contenders as some believe.

Any time a QB goes 29/39 (74.4%) for 281 yards and a TD, its noteworthy. In New England the last nearly 2 decades it became commonplace and expected for the QB to have top performances week in and week out. Now for a rookie to put up those numbers in his debut in New England week 1 against a really tough Miami Dolphins team is beyond impressive.

The Pats were faced with a tight contest from start to finish and in order to have a chance at winning on Sunday, they needed to convert 3rd downs and keep the ball moving down the field. Mac did just that, completing 9 of 12 3rd down passes for 89 yards. He made smart, quick, confident decisions throughout the game with only one or two exceptions. When the team needed him the most in the 4th quarter down 1pt, Mac took the team down the field 41 yards on 9 plays to the 11-yard line before Damien Harris fumbled.

The 4th quarter drive will be remembered for the unfortunate Harris fumble, but my takeaway was the composure of Mac. He knew the situation and executed it perfectly. The Pats got the ball with 8:07 to play and after picking up a first down at the Miami 39 following a short run and 2 short passes to Jakobi Meyers, Jones went into clock-wasting mode without becoming stagnant. The Pats obviously still needed to score, but knowing that a field goal could potentially win the game, it was important to leave Miami with as little time left as possible. Over the next 6 plays, Jones took 3 minutes off the clock and still moved the team well inside the red zone.

I hate the comparison of young QBs to successful veterans in general, but that drive screamed classic Tom Brady. It never felt like Mac wasn’t in control or completely understanding and on top of the situation at hand. He calmly and confidently brought the Pats down the field and put them in a position to take the lead. It’s incredibly unfortunate, both for Harris and for the Pats, that we couldn’t see Mac finish that drive off in the end zone.

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While you never want to lose, especially in such an anticipated divisional game week 1 at home, most of us, myself included, are feeling a lot more confident about the future of this team and franchise. It’s obviously SUPER early, but it says a lot about the character and composure of a player when you see them perform in their first ever professional game like Mac did on Sunday. The good news? The Patriots have an immediate opportunity for redemption when they play the Jets next week.