Patriots: Mac Jones sounds a lot like Tom Brady after loss to Bills

New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones wasn’t the only reason his team lost at the hands of the Bills, but as a leader on offense, he took accountability.

Give Jones credit — by no means was he the only player at fault for Saturday night’s 47-17 defeat in Buffalo, but he sounded like it. Bill Belichick’s team was behind from the jump and never really recovered.

A 30-point final deficit could serve as a changing of the guard of sorts, despite the fact that Jones should only get better from here on out.

“For me, obviously, I was a rookie and … played like that sometimes and I shouldn’t have,” Jones admitted during his postgame press conference. “I can play better, and that’s my goal this offseason is just to advance and bring the guys along with me.”

Patriots: Mac Jones has a long way to go, and he knows it

Jones threw the ball 38 times on Saturday night, a far cry from his limited pass attempts in his last matchup against the Bills and down the stretch in general. His 232 yards on those attempts, including 24 completions and two interceptions, left a lot to be desired.

But as commentators stated in the moment, and surely the Patriots must have admitted to themselves, it’s only Jones’ first postseason game. Hopefully for New England, he has many more ahead of him.

The Patriots won ten games on the season, including six on the road with a rookie quarterback. Jones has the makings to be the best quarterback of his draft class, meaning the Patriots have found their heir-apparent to Tom Brady, even if it’s tough to follow up the best quarterback of all-time.

Jones is exactly what New England needs to keep their sustained success rolling. Will he lead them to the same level of prosperity Brady did?

Likely not, but Jones sounds a lot like his predecessor when it matters most. Using defeat as an opportunity to improve is a damn good start.