Joshua Linnehan & Marcus Antonelli
The New England Patriots haven’t had an ideal start to the 2022-23 season. Starting off 1-2 is probably what most of us thought was gonna happen. With the loss of long-time OC Josh McDaniels and the controversial decision to give the keys of the offense to Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, this season has been frustrating to say the least. But what happened this past Sunday has made the situation much worse.
With 2 minutes left in a Week 3 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, New England found themselves down 37-26. Patriot QB Mac Jones threw two interceptions, so he’s having a pretty bad day already just from seeing that stat line. On his last pass of the afternoon, Jones throws his 3rd interception to seal the game. On the play, Mac gets hit by Ravens veteran Calais Campbell, whose leg caught Jones’ foot at a bad time when it hit the ground. Mac immediately gets up and hops on one foot to the sideline, screaming in pain.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Twitter that doctors diagnosed the injury as a “High ankle sprain” that should lead to surgery. While discussions between Jones and New England are still in the air with how to proceed, it’s estimated that Mac’s timeline to return is 4-8 weeks. In Jones’ postgame press conference he kept it very short and simple. To sum it up, the quote that caught everyone’s attention was “I’m going to take it day-by-day and get my treatment.”, which was his answer to every single question during the presser, a classic New England Patriot move.
As the Pats prepare for Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers this week, it looks like Brian Hoyer will replace Mac in Lambeau Field. His last start came back in 2020 against the Kansas City Chiefs. In that game, Hoyer threw for 130 yards with an interception in a 26-10 loss; not very pretty. The Pats could also go with their fourth-round pick from this year’s NFL Draft, Bailey Zappe. In the preseason Zappe struggled however, throwing one TD to three picks in three appearances. Hopefully the Pats can stay afloat until their young star returns to the field.
